HM Treasury

Treasury: Consultants

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what policy evaluations have been carried out by external organisations for his Department and its agencies in each financial year since 2010-11; whether the output of those evaluations was published; which organisation carried out each such evaluation; and what the value of each contract to provide that evaluation was.

Harriett Baldwin: Information on policy evaluations carried out by external organisations is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Enterprise Zones: Job Creation

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) examined on the effect of Enterprise Zones on investment and job creation in other neighbouring localities.

Greg Hands: The 24 Enterprise Zones that have been established in England since 2012 had by December 2014 provided 18,949 jobs, attracted £2.2 billion of private investment, and attracted over 540 new businesses. We continue to review all available evidence on the efficacy and impact of Enterprise Zones, including from previous programmes in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Thames Tideway Tunnel

Roger Mullin: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the devolved administrations on potential Barnett consequentials arising from the Thames Tideway Tunnel project.

Harriett Baldwin: I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer provided to him on 6 July 2015 (4460). No such discussions have been had on this subject, as the likelihood of the UK Government’s support package being called upon is remote, and there will be no spending by the UK Government unless it is called upon.   I would also refer the honourable gentleman to the written statement made by Rory Stewart MP on 7 September 2015, reference HCWS175, which provides further information on the project.

Inheritance Tax

Justin Madders: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much inheritance tax was collected in each of the last twelve months for which figures are available.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs publishes a monthly summary of tax and National Insurance Contributions receipts. The most recent summary was published on 21st August 2015. This is available online at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk and includes monthly Inheritance Tax receipts up to and including July 2015.

Prime Minister

Middle East: Weapons

Paul Flynn: To ask the Prime Minister, whether he had discussions with his Israeli counterpart during his visit to London on (a) Israel's nuclear weapons and (b) prospects for a conference on weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

Mr David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the press release published by my office on 10 September. The press release is available on the gov.uk website.

Department for Work and Pensions

Social Security Benefits

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the Answer of 24 March 2015 to Question 228133, and pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2015 to Question 748, how much has been claimed in hardship payments in each of the last 12 months.

Priti Patel: Information on how much has been claimed in hardship payments in each of the last 12 months is not available.

Children: Poverty

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he expects the targets for eradicating child poverty set out in the Child Poverty Act 2010 will be achieved.

Priti Patel: This Government is committed to working to eliminate child poverty and improving life chances. The approach up until now has focused on dealing with the symptoms of child poverty and not the root causes. This Government is setting out a more effective way of driving action by introducing legislation that will remove the targets in the Act and instead bring in a statutory duty to report on measures of worklessness and educational attainment. These new life chances measures will drive real action which will make the biggest difference to disadvantaged children.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the effect on work incentives of the reduction in the universal credit work allowance proposed in the Summer Budget 2015.

Priti Patel: Universal Credit (UC) has been designed to reduce poverty and ensure work always pays. This remains the case following the Summer Budget. The Budget made a number of changes that could effect on work incentives, such as introducing of the National Living Wage, that will help ensure this country moves from a low wage, high tax society to a high wage, low tax society.

Employment and Support Allowance

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether, on the enactment and coming into force of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill, the Government plans for people with an existing condition who are reassessed for the employment and support allowance work-related activity group to be classified as new applicants.

Priti Patel: There are no plans to treat existing ESA claimants as new applicants when they are reassessed for employment and support allowance following the enactment of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill.

Work Capability Assessment: Mental Illness

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many mental health champions are employed by Maximus in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK as part of the employment and support allowance work capability assessment process.

Priti Patel: The Centre for Health and Disability Assessments (CHDA), a MAXIMUS UK subsidiary, currently employs 28 mental health function champions. A telephone service is provided by these mental health function champions due to the large number, and varying size of Assessments Centres across England, Scotland and Wales. These staff provide the service across all parts of the United Kingdom.

Work Capability Assessment: Mental Illness

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what evaluation he has made of the effectiveness of the role played by mental health champions in the work capability assessment process.

Priti Patel: There are no formal performance measures around the role of the mental health champion.

Work Capability Assessment: Mental Illness

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many assessors employed by Maximus under their contract to conduct work capability assessments in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK have a mental health qualification.

Priti Patel: The holding of specific mental health qualifications is not a DWP requirement for healthcare professionals conducting assessments. The information requested is therefore not readily available. However, the comprehensive training provided to all healthcare professionals includes the functional effects of a wide range of mental health conditions.

Work Capability Assessment

Dr Eilidh Whiteford: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when he plans to commence the review of the work capability assessment process.

Priti Patel: Work on reviewing how assessments can be better geared towards helping to get people prepared for and into work, if and when they are ready for that, has already begun following the Secretary of State’s speech on 24 August.

Home Office

Burglary: Preston

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many burglaries were reported in each ward in Preston City Council in each of the first six months of 2015; and how many of those burglaries were attended by a member of Lancashire Constabulary to investigate.

Mike Penning: The Home Office does not hold the data requested. Information is not centrally held on burglary incidents reported to police forces and the status of each investigation. We do expect all crimes reported to the police to be taken seriously, investigated and, where appropriate, taken through the courts and met with tough sentences.The Home Office collects and publishes data on notifiable offences that are recorded by the police including burglaries and where applicable the outcome of these offences but this data is not available by ward.

Overseas Students: Visas

Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what provision is made for genuine overseas students who enrol at a private higher education college that subsequently has its licence revoked to enable them to retain their visa and continue their studies.

James Brokenshire: We will continue to clamp down on immigration abuse in order to deliver an effective immigration system which works in the national interest, and is fair to British taxpayers and genuine students.Where the Tier 4 licence of a private college is revoked, the Home Office will write to the Tier 4 students enrolled at the college and curtail their existing leave to 60 calendar days from the date of the letter. These Tier 4 students are not permitted to retain their visa or continue studying with the college that has had its licence revoked. During this 60 day period however, the students may find a new sponsor with a valid Tier 4 licence and make a visa application for further leave to remain if they wish to continue their studies in the UK. If they do not make such an application before their leave expires, they will have to leave the UK.

Illegal Immigrants: Harwich

Mr Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, where each of the (a) 68 clandestine migrants and (b) four lorry drivers are that were stopped in Harwich in June 2015; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Fourteen Chinese nationals and eight Vietnamese nationals were removed to the Hook of Holland. The remaining 46 individuals - comprising Afghan (35), Chinese (8), Vietnamese (2) and Russian (1) nationality - have claimed asylum and are being processed within the asylum system. If their claims are not substantiated they will be expected to leave the UK, or will be forcibly removed. The four lorry drivers were arrested and bailed and are due to answer bail in November.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many officials in her Department are engaged in research into the effects of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe.

Northern Ireland Office: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which external organisations she has met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many times she has met each such organisation.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly.

Northern Ireland Office: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, which external organisations officials in her Department have met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Officials regularly meet with a range of external organisations.

Department of Health

Food: Salt

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to reduce the amount of salt in food consumed in the UK.

Jane Ellison: The United Kingdom’s salt reduction programme is world leading, with population average intakes of salt being reduced by 15% (from 9.5g to 8.1g) between 2001 and 2011.   We still have further to go to meet recommended intake levels of 6 grams per day. New voluntary salt reduction targets have been developed for 76 specific food groups that contribute most to people’s salt intakes and major retailers, manufacturers and caterers are working to meet these targets by December 2017.   Maximum per serving salt targets for the out of home sector (restaurants and caterers) have also been set, covering the 10 most popular dishes on menus and children’s meals, and these are being supported by further actions in this sector, including training chefs, reformulating dishes and procuring lower salt ingredients.

Parkinson's Disease: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people in Northern Ireland have Parkinson's disease; and what the age profile of those patients is.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on a regional strategy for Parkinson's disease.

Jane Ellison: Health is a devolved matter and the Department collects no information about how many people in Northern Ireland have Parkinson’s disease. However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence reports that the condition affects between 100-180 people per 100,000 of the United Kingdom population and has an annual incidence of 4-20 per 100,000.   Although health is a devolved matter, research and evidence of best practice is made widely available throughout the United Kingdom.

Breast Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to improve the treatment of breast cancer.

Jane Ellison: To promote early diagnosis of cancer, we have run numerous national ‘Be Clear on Cancer’ public awareness campaigns, including a national reminder campaign on breast cancer in women over 70 which ran from 13 July to 6 September 2015. The campaign aimed to encourage women over 70 with symptoms to see their general practitioner without delay. Finding breast cancer early makes it more treatable.   In terms of treatment, there has been a significant increase in the use of Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy (IMRT) with over 37% of radiotherapy treatments now being delivered with IMRT, well ahead of the 24% target and the 2010 5% level.   Improving Outcomes in Breast Cancer, published by the Department in 1996 and updated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in 2002, sets out best practice evidence based guidance on the diagnosis, treatment and care of women with breast cancer. The guidance is complimented by clinical guidelines on Breast cancer (early and locally advanced) and Breast cancer (advanced), published by NICE in 2009, and Familial breast cancer published in June 2013. In addition, NICE has recommended a number of treatments for breast cancer through its technology appraisal programme and more are currently in the process of being appraised.   NICE has also published a quality standard for breast cancer which is designed to drive and measure priority quality improvements in a breast cancer care. This is currently being updated.   NHS England has a Breast Cancer Clinical Reference Group, which is administratively supported by the charitable sector. It has produced an evidence based service specification to guide and support commissioners of breast cancer services, which is in the process of review internally.

Patients: Attendance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure day patients attend their (a) GP and (b) hospital appointments.

Alistair Burt: Estimates suggest that missed general practitioner appointments cost the National Health Service £162 million each year, and missed hospital appointments as much as £750 million a year.   Local NHS organisations make their own arrangements for preventing and dealing with missed appointments. Innovative solutions to reduce rates of missed appointments are being introduced, for example using text message or email reminders, online cancellation forms, or having appointments via Skype for those who do not need a physical examination.

Parkinson's Disease: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to introduce the drug Duodopa for the treatment of NHS patients with Parkinson's disease.

George Freeman: On 2 July 2015, NHS England announced that Duodopa will now be routinely commissioned by NHS England for patients meeting the inclusion criteria agreed by the Neurosciences Clinical Reference Group.   The specific commissioning policy on Duodopa is available here:   http://www.england.nhs.uk/commissioning/spec-services/npc-crg/group-d/d04/   This decision followed a three-month public consultation on the principles and processes NHS England will follow when making investment decisions.

Skin Cancer: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make available on the NHS the skin cancer injection treatment Opdivo.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently appraising nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of melanoma.   In the absence of guidance from NICE, it is for commissioners to make decisions on whether to fund new medicines based on an assessment of the available evidence.

Cancer: Research

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department and the NHS provided to research projects related to the treatment of cancer in each financial year since 2010-11.

George Freeman: Spend by the Department’s National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) on cancer research is shown in the following table.£ million2010/11100.92011/12104.12012/13133.22013/14129.92014/15134.7   This funding provides direct and indirect support for research projects relating to cancer aetiology, prevention, screening, detection, diagnosis, treatment and care. Total NIHR spend on research relating specifically to cancer treatment cannot be separated from total cancer research expenditure.

Dementia: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans to make the dementia drug solanegement available on the NHS.

George Freeman: Solanezumab is still undergoing clinical trials and is not yet licensed for use in the European Union or the United States for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Paracetamol

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to promote public awareness of the danger of paracetamol overdoses.

George Freeman: All packs for over-the-counter medicines containing paracetamol must include clear instructions to promote appropriate use and highlight the dangers of overdose.   These include dosing instructions and a warning not to take more medicine than the label tells you to, a statement that the product contains paracetamol and an instruction not to take with anything else containing paracetamol, and advice to talk to a doctor at once if too much of the medicine is taken even if you feel well.   The patient information leaflet (or the label if there is no leaflet) must also contain an explanation that this is because too much paracetamol can cause delayed, serious liver damage.

Accident and Emergency Departments: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Northern Ireland Executive on introducing seven day per week accident and emergency services.

Jane Ellison: Although health is a devolved matter, research and evidence of best practice is made widely available throughout the United Kingdom.

Diets: Safety

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the NHS has issued guidance on the safety of dieting schemes.

Jane Ellison: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence provides national guidance and advice to improve health and social care. This includes reviewing the evidence base which informs recommendations for the treatment of overweight and obese adults, including the safety of diets such as Very Low Calorie Diets.   Public Health England provides advice on diet and nutrition for the general population based on evidence considered by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. This is portrayed through the eatwell plate and Change 4 Life campaign, which supports individuals and families to eat a healthy balanced diet. There is also information available on NHS Choices website provided by the British Dietetic Association, which discusses the most popular diets for the general public.

Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many cancer patients were initially diagnosed as not having cancer in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The information requested is not collected.

Heart Diseases: Medical Equipment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make the cardomems HF system to measure blood pressure available on the NHS.

Jane Ellison: The cardomems HF system received a European Conformity mark in November 2010 for use in measuring pulmonary artery pressure in patients with heart failure.   Subsequently, in 2013, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) produced Interventional Procedures Guidance on this technology, (http://guidance.nice.org.uk/IPG463), recommending that its use in the National Health Service at this time should only be with special arrangements for clinical governance, consent and audit or research, including monitoring what happens to the patient after the procedure.   NICE’s interventional procedures guidance assesses the efficacy and safety of interventional procedures, with the aim of protecting patients and helping clinicians, healthcare organisations and the NHS to introduce procedures appropriately. This guidance is not subject to the same statutory funding direction as NICE’s technology appraisal guidance.

Organs: Donors

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to address the shortage of organ donors.

Jane Ellison: We are supporting a number of initiatives to raise awareness and to encourage more people to consent to organ donation.   UK Government provides NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) with around £60 million to support organ donation. In July 2013, NHSBT launched a new United Kingdom–wide organ donation and transplantation strategy Taking Organ Transplantation to 2020 developed by NHSBT with the support of the four UK Health Departments. The strategy sets the agenda for increasing organ donation and transplantation rates to world class standards over the next few years.   Changing behaviour and attitudes towards organ donation is a key feature of this strategy. From 7 – 13 September this year, NHSBT ran a successful campaign for National Transplant Week entitled ‘7 Days to say Yes I DOnate’. NHSBT wants to get the whole nation talking about organ donation and to encourage people to share their decision on what they want to happen after they die. Last year’s National Transplant Week campaign achieved higher levels of social media engagement than ever before, and media coverage reached 82% of adults.   The Department also supports a number of initiatives to raise awareness in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities to become donors. Less than 5% of deceased organ donors are BAME, yet patients from BAME communities represent around a quarter of people waiting for a transplant.   NHSBT works collaboratively with a number of partners in the private, public and third sectors to promote organ donation, such as Boots Advantage Card. People can also add their name to the NHS Organ Donation Register via Government owned channels such as applying for a driving licence and paying car tax online.

Cataracts: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make available on the NHS lenosterol for the treatment of eye cataracts.

George Freeman: Lanosterol is still in development and has not yet been trialled on humans.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is currently developing a clinical guideline on the management of cataracts in adults which is currently expected to be published in June 2017.

Department of Health: Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments in respect of carbon offsetting were made in each such year.

Jane Ellison: In 2012/13 the Department spent £91,284 on carbon offsetting costs. In 2013/14 the figure was £82,950 and in 2014/15 £180,814. The spend figure for 2014/15 is higher than in previous years as the Department also purchased offsetting allowances for future years at a reduced rate, using the Carbon Reduction Commitment schemes newly introduced forecast auction option.   All payments were made to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and Department of Energy and Climate Change under the Carbon Reduction Commitment energy efficiency scheme, with the exception of £741 paid to Carbon Footprint Ltd in 2014/15 and £161 to EDF in 2013/14 under the Government Carbon Offsetting Facility scheme.

Hospitals: Consultants

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the proportion of consultants who opt out of non-emergency work at weekends.

Ben Gummer: In its 2013 report Managing NHS hospital consultants the National Audit Office (NAO) reported that 91% of trusts who responded to its survey paid for additional work using locally agreed rates. The NAO expressed the view that “This is likely to be linked to the fact that the contract allows consultants to refuse to work outside 7am to 7pm Monday to Friday.”   We know that the practical effects of consultants’ ability to opt-out of non-emergency work at weekends and in the evenings are:   - an effective veto over work at these times and over service changes; - consultants being able to negotiate higher rates than national contract rates for work at these times, which drives up the cost of additional work from existing staff, and the costs of agency staff and locum staff; - a practical and financial barrier to scheduling consultants and developing and delivering cost-effective and high-quality services in evenings and weekends; - impacts on quality/patient care and on mortality rates – senior decision-makers are not available at the weekends; and - impacts on the quality of education and training of junior doctors, who provide the majority of care at these times, and have less exposure (including during the week, as a consequence of working patterns) to working with consultants.

Department of Health: Information Officers

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many press officers are employed by his Department.

Jane Ellison: On 10 September 2015, 27 press officers were employed by the Department.   This is a reduction on the number of press officers employed in 2010. The Department’s Media Centre budget is £2.219 million, down from £2.413 million in 2010.

Orthopaedics: Plymouth

Johnny Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many limb amputations were undertaken in the Plymouth area in each of the last five years; and how many such operations were as a result of (a) smoking and (b) diabetes.

Jane Ellison: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table.   Count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) with (a) a main or secondary procedure of amputation and (b) a primary diagnosis of diabetes and a main or secondary procedure of amputation by the selected hospital provider for the years 2009-10 to 2013-14.   Plymouth Hospitals NHS TrustYearNumber of amputationsAmputations with a diagnosis of diabetes2009-10178412010-11215362011-12216472012-13238732013-1420350 Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre   Notes 1. Finished Consultant Episode (FCE) A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year.   2. Number of episodes with a main or secondary procedure The number of episodes where the procedure (or intervention) was recorded in any of the 24 (12 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 4 prior to 2002-03) procedure fields in a HES record. A record is only included once in each count, even if the procedure is recorded in more than one procedure field of the record. Note that more procedures are carried out than episodes with a main or secondary procedure. For example, patients undergoing a ‘cataract operation’ would tend to have at least two procedures – removal of the faulty lens and the fitting of a new one – counted in a single episode. 3. OPCS codes for amputation procedure The following OPCS codes were used to define amputation:   X07 - Amputation of arm X08 - Amputation of hand X09 - Amputation of leg X10 - Amputation of foot X11 - Amputation of toe X121 – Re-amputation at higher level   One of the following site codes must be assigned in a secondary position to X12.1 in order to identify an amputation:   Z68 - Bone of shoulder girdle Z69 - Humerus Z70 - Radius Z71 - Ulna Z72 - Other bone of arm or wrist Z73 - Other bone of hand Z76 - Femur Z77 - Tibia Z78 – Other bone of lower leg Z79 - Bone of tarsus Z80 - Other bone of foot 4. Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and 7 prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. 5. ICD-10 diagnosis codes for diabetes The following ICD-10 codes were used to identify diabetes:   E10 - Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus E11 - Non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus E12 - Malnutrition-related diabetes mellitus E13 - Other specified diabetes mellitus E14 - Unspecified diabetes Mellitus   6. Hospital Provider A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (e.g. NHS trust). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of data flows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using these data as the counts may be lower than true figures.   7) Assessing growth through time (Admitted patient care) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, apparent reductions in activity may be due to a number of procedures which may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and so no longer include in admitted patient HES data. Conversely, apparent increases in activity may be due to improved recording of diagnosis or procedure information.   Note that HES include activity ending in the year in question and run from April to March, e.g. 2012-13 includes activity ending between 1 April 2012 and 31 March 2013.

Department of Health: Consultants

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will list what policy evaluations have been carried out by external organisations for his Department and its agencies in each financial year since 2010-11; whether the output of those evaluations was published; which organisation carried out each such evaluation; and what the value of each contract to provide that evaluation was.

George Freeman: The Department commissions research-based evidence for policy development, implementation and evaluation through the Policy Research Programme (PRP). Details of projects, initiatives and long-term programmes of research currently funded by the PRP are available on the website of the PRP Central Commissioning Facility: http://www.prp-ccf.org.uk/   These details include research summary, contractor, start date, estimated date of completion, and value of the award. The website also has links to summary final reports received since April 2011.

Nurses: Pay

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of nurses earn £35,000 or more per year.

Ben Gummer: Information from the Health and Social Care Information Centre shows that 32% of qualified nurses earned more than £35,000 in the year ending 31 March 2015. This includes only nurses who worked for the full 12 months. It reflects the actual earnings of each nurse and is not adjusted for part-time working. It excludes nurses in general practice.

NHS: Fees and Charges

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his policy is on the introduction of user charges in the NHS.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the potential merits and demerits of introducing user charges in the NHS.

Alistair Burt: The Government remains committed to the principles of the National Health Service, enshrined in the NHS Constitution, that access to NHS services is based on clinical need, not the ability to pay, and we have previously ruled out introducing charges.   The Government has committed to fully meeting the additional funding requirement – £8 billion per year over and above inflation by 2020-21 – identified by the Five Year Forward View.

Department of Health: Freedom of Information

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 15 July 2015 to Question 6508, for what reasons his Department cannot report monthly on the litigation and Counsel's costs relating to the Freedom of Information request for the former Secretary of State for Health's diary of engagements referred to in Information Commissioner Decision Note No. FS50406024 and the subsequent appeals.

Jane Ellison: This is an ongoing legal case and we do not propose to report monthly on the costs of the case. These will be accounted for at the end of the process.

Mental Health

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations his Department has received from mental health charities on the potential effects of recent changes in welfare spending on mental health; and what assessment his Department has made of the content of those representations.

Alistair Burt: The Department has received no representations from mental health charities on the potential effects of recent changes in welfare spending on mental health.

Eating Disorders

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has to ask NICE to revise the treatment criteria in NICE guidelines on eating disorders; and what recent discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with NICE on eating disorder guidelines.

Alistair Burt: The National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is currently updating its clinical guideline on Eating disorders: recognition and treatment of eating disorders, and the anticipated publication date is April 2017. Further information is available on NICE’S website at:   www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-cgwave0703   Ministers have had no discussions with NICE on this guidance.

Eating Disorders

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what funding under which categories of expenditure his Department has allocated to eating disorder support services in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not allocate funding to particular categories of expenditure but provides funding to NHS England for distribution to each clinical commissioning group, so that decisions can be made locally to provide a comprehensive health service for the population served.   For this year, NHS England has distributed £30 million of funding (as part of £150 million over five years commitment) to improve eating disorder services, alongside a detailed commissioning guide to inform preparations for an access and waiting time standard. This sets out the aim to see 95% of patients within four weeks and one week for urgent cases by 2020.   The funding is the first stage of a new programme to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and will be used to improve community-based eating disorder services, so that patients are helped earlier and fewer need in-patient care.

Eating Disorders

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings and recommendations of the Feel Happy (Eating) Fix on eating disorders, which took place in London on 16 June 2015.

Alistair Burt: The Department notes the findings and recommendations of the Feel Happy (Eating) Fix report by the organisation Fixers. Many of its findings and recommendations are in line with those set out in Future in mind, the previous Government’s report of the work of the Taskforce on Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing, published in March 2015. This report established a clear and powerful consensus about bringing about change across the whole system, in order to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing.   We recognise that treatment of eating disorders needs to be improved. That is why we are investing £150 million over the next five years in services for young people with eating disorders. The funding will be used to improve community based services so patients are helped earlier and fewer need in-patient care.

Morquio Syndrome: Drugs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he expects NICE to announce its decision on approving the Vimizim form of elosulfase alfa.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published further draft guidance on 2 September 2015 which recommends elosulphase alfa (Vimizim) for the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis (type IVA)/Morquio syndrome, subject to certain conditions. Interested parties now have until 23 September to comment on NICE’s draft recommendation.   NICE now expects to publish its final guidance in January 2016.

Prescriptions

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken as a consequence of the roundtable event it co-hosted in February 2015 to explore indepth the issues around the culture of unlicensed and off-label prescriptions.

George Freeman: The Department and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence co-hosted a roundtable event to explore in depth the issues around the culture on unlicensed and off-label prescribing in general. Many stakeholders attended this including Breast Cancer Now, Cancer Research UK, Cure Parkinson’s Trust, NHS England and numerous other National Health Service organisations.   A number of areas were identified where further work could help improve matters, including: - supporting clinicians to identify the latest robust evidence on patient care and take it up in their own practice; and - supporting and mapping clear pathways for innovators and those who want to "re-purpose" drugs.   Officials have since been engaging with stakeholders to progress outputs associated with this event.

Royal Bournemouth Hospital: Recruitment

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many vacancies there are for theatre nurses at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital; and if he will discuss with the Home Secretary ensuring that theatre nurses recruited in the Philippines can be employed at that hospital.

Ben Gummer: Recruitment is an operational matter for the Foundation Trust.   We have written to Jane Stitchbury, Chair of the Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust informing her of the hon. Member’s enquiry. She will reply shortly and a copy of the letter will be placed in the Library.   The Secretary of State is keen to ensure that the immigration system works to ensure that the brightest and best candidates from around the world are able to take up posts in NHS trusts where there are no suitable United Kingdom candidates available to take up these positions. The Secretary of State and his officials are in regular contact with Home Office ministers and officials on this and other relevant matters.

Health Services: Dorset

Mr Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, on what grounds the Clinical Commissioning Group Senate for NHS South West prevent Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group submitting proposals for public consultation on healthcare provision in Dorset.

George Freeman: We are advised by NHS England that the Dorset Clinical Services Review was considered by the Wessex Clinical Senate as part of the assurance process, with NHS England. The Clinical Senate has acknowledged the scope and volume of the work undertaken by the Dorset Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to date, and welcomed the ambition to move care closer to patients’ homes.   The CCG made the decision to delay the public consultation after reviewing the range of evidence available to it, including findings from the Clinical Senate review, and will undertake further planning and analysis to help set out clearly to the public how it plans to realise its ambitions.   NHS England will undertake a standard assurance process prior to consultation to ensure proposals are robust, feasible, sustainable, and comply with the four key tests, which are that proposals should demonstrate: support from clinical commissioners; strengthened public and patient engagement; clarity on the clinical evidence base; and support for patient choice.   We are advised that the CCG plans to publically consult in 2016.

Medical Records

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to Section 10.4 of the Code of Practice on confidential personal information, published in December 2010, what plans the Care Quality Commission has to publish a review of that code.

Ben Gummer: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. The CQC has provided the following information.   The CQC Code of Practice on confidential personal information is being kept under review. As part of its Information Governance Strategy, the CQC is currently working on an updated version.

Care Quality Commission

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Care Quality Commission (CQC) requires CQC inspectors to identify themselves as such when visiting patients in a personal capacity in CQC inspected premises.

Ben Gummer: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. The CQC has provided the following information.   The CQC inspectors are not required to identify themselves when visiting patients in a personal capacity in the CQC inspected premises. Section 62(5) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 requires inspectors to identify themselves only when they are carrying out an inspection, and when they are asked to do so. In these circumstances the inspector is required to produce their warrant.

Care Quality Commission

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will take steps to ensure that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) (a) publishes a code of conduct for its inspectors on its website and (b) places a duty on its inspectors and other staff involved in inspections to declare to CQC whether friends or family members are, to their knowledge, being looked after in CQC inspected premises.

Ben Gummer: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England and has a key responsibility in the overall assurance of safety and quality of health and adult social care services. The CQC has provided the following information.   The Code of Conduct for the CQC inspectors is classed as internal guidance and, in line with the CQC’s internal guidance and policies, has not been considered for publication on the CQC website.   The CQC have a detailed Declaration of Interest and Resolution of Conflicts Policy which requires any staff member engaged in registration and inspection activities who has used the specific service within the last five years to declare this. The same requirement applies where a member of the individual’s immediate family has used or has been involved in the service in the last five years. Where any relationship, whether close friendship, personal or family develops or exists between a CQC staff member and a service provider or their employees, the staff member must declare the relationship to their line manager as soon as is reasonably practicable.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Infrastructure: Expenditure

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much of the £1.1 billion capital infrastructure fund for 2015-16 has been (a) allocated for specific projects and (b) spent on delivering specific projects to date.

Joseph Johnson: For the purpose of my response I have interpreted the £1.1bn capital infrastructure fund to be the long term Science Capital allocation announced at Spending Review 2013 at £1.1bn a year. a) All of the capital spend supports scientific infrastructure projects. It is allocated by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to, and managed by, BIS partner organisations, including the Research Councils, HEFCE and the UK Space Agency. Further details on the 15-16 Science Capital allocations are available in the 15-16 science and research allocation publication: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/332767/bis-14-750-science-research-funding-allocations-2015-2016-corrected.pdf b) In the 15-16 financial year, around £415m has been spent on Science Capital to end of August 2015.

Minimum Wage: Young People

Chris Stephens: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what his Department's proposals are for the level of the legal minimum wage for people aged under 25.

Nick Boles: The Low Pay Commission will continue to recommend the National Minimum Wage rates for all workers under 25 at a level that maximises their earnings without damaging employment prospects by setting it too high.

Overseas Students: EU Nationals

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure that students from other EU countries repay student loans taken out in the UK.

Joseph Johnson: Borrowers from other EU countries who remain in the UK after completing their studies make repayments through the UK tax system in the usual way. The Student Loans Company (SLC) informs any borrower, regardless of nationality, going abroad of their obligations to repay and the methods of repayment available to them. If a borrower who has moved abroad fails to meet their obligations to repay, the SLC will undertake a variety of actions to recover payments. These include the use of international trace services and debt collection agencies. Collection across the EU is underpinned by EC regulation 44/2001, which allows the SLC to obtain judgments in UK Courts, which can be enforced by courts in other EU countries.

Science

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what progress has been made on the Great Challenges programme; and what recent steps the Government has taken to support that programme.

Joseph Johnson: Good progress has been made in relation to the Grand Challenges Fund, with approved business cases enabling numerous projects to start. For example the Hartree Centre at Daresbury, a ground-breaking collaboration between IBM and the Science and Technology Facilities Council, has leveraged in £200m of IBM investment to work on data centric and cognitive computing.   All projects forming part of the Grand Challenges Fund were announced subject to detailed business cases in accordance with published HM Treasury requirements. All projects falling within the fund are receiving support from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Research Councils.

Royal Mail

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2015 to Question 4159, what (a) process and (b) performance metrics were used to determine the level of fees received by firms involved in the sale of Royal Mail shares.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 30 June 2015 to Question 4159, how the level of fees paid to firms for their work in the disposal of shares in Royal Mail was determined; what key performance indicators were set and what outcomes were identified for that work; and whether a competitive tendering process took place.

Anna Soubry: The level of fees was determined on the basis of previous fees charged for similar services relating to the sale of Government assets and was subject to a competitive tendering process. The key performance indicator and outcome in this instance was the delivery of a successful secondary sale of Royal Mail shares.

Higher Education Funding Council for England: Staff

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many members of staff are employed in the HEFCE Equality Challenge Unit.

Joseph Johnson: The Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) and HEFCE are two separate organisations. The ECU employs 28.2 full-time equivalent staff and HEFCE employs 242 full-time equivalent staff.

UK Research Partnership Investment Fund

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to his Answer of 6 July 2015 to Question 4950, what funds from the public purse (a) were spent and (b) he plans to spend on the HEFCE UK Research Partnership Investment Fund in each financial year from 2010-11 to 2020-21 in real terms.

Joseph Johnson: The following expenditure has occurred and is planned on the HEFCE UK Research Partnership Investment Fund: Financial Year2013/142014/152015/162016/17Total to datecash (£m)13816068135501Real (14-15 prices) (£m)14016067131499 The detailed expenditure profile for the additional £400m for expenditure out to 2021 for UK RPIF, announced in Budget 2015, will be announced in due course.

Coal: Export Credit Guarantees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to secure an agreement between OECD countries to stop supporting all coal projects overseas through export credit agencies.

Anna Soubry: UK Export Finance has been participating in discussions within the OECD with the aim of achieving a multilateral agreement on limiting the provision of export credits for coal-fired power projects.

Council for Science and Technology

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, on what dates the Council for Science and Technology met in the last 12 months; on what dates and who was in attendance at each such meeting.

Joseph Johnson: Meetings and attendance details for the Council for Science and Technology can be found here - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/council-for-science-and-technology/about/our-governance

Newton Fund

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many (a) fellowships and (b) other outputs have been delivered under the Newton Fund in each of the last five years.

Joseph Johnson: The Newton Fund was launched in April 2014. In the first year of the fund (FY14/15) the following awards were made:a) 287 Fellowshipsb) 1164 other awards

Research Councils

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what changes have been made to Research Council deadlines for grant funding applications since May 2015.

Joseph Johnson: Across the Research Councils, the following changes to deadlines for grant applications have been made since 1 May 2015: • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council – two call deadlines have changed since May 2015. One call had its deadline extended by two and a half weeks, and another was extended by almost a month.• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council – one call deadline has changed since May 2015. This call had its deadline extended by three weeks.• Natural Environment Research Council - six call deadlines have changed since May 2015. All calls have just had the deadline extended by one month on average.

Government Office for Science

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has for future projects under the Foresight Project of the Government Office for Science.

Joseph Johnson: The Government Office for Science Foresight programme is directed by Sir Mark Walport, Government Chief Scientific Advisor. Foresight projects examine either an important public policy issue where science might be part of the solution, or a scientific topic where potential applications and technologies are yet to be realised. Foresight’s two current projects are 'Future of an ageing population' and ‘Future of cities’. The Government Office for Science actively considers topics for future projects, and welcomes suggestions.

Science: Finance

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what public funds have been committed to the Sciencewise project in the next five financial years.

Joseph Johnson: The Sciencewise programme like all other areas of spend is subject to the Spending Review and future budget allocations will be based on the outcome of the review.

Shareholder Executive

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to the Government's press release of 20 May 2015, on machinery of government: Shareholder Executive and UK financial investments, what consultation was undertaken prior to the transfer of the Executive from his Department to HM Treasury; what factors were taken into account in reaching that decision; on what evidence that decision was based; on what date plans were first discussed by (a) officials and (b) Ministers; and when the formal transfer took place.

Anna Soubry: The decision was taken by the Prime Minister and communicated in May 2015 to merge the functions of the Shareholder Executive and UK Financial Investments (UKFI) in to a new wholly-owned Government Company, UK Government Investments (UKGI). Discussions with staff also began in May and will continue until the transition is complete.The new company will make it easier for government experts to work together to deliver the sale of a wide range of publicly-owned assets in a way that secures good value for money for taxpayers. It will help the government achieve its aim of running large, publicly-owned delivery bodies more efficiently, as well as learning from private sector expertise in improving the performance of taxpayer-owned assets not being sold.UKGI will be established in the autumn, with the intention of completing any transfer activity for the start of the next financial year.

Medical Research Council: Patents

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what forecasts he has made of revenues likely to accrue to the Medical Research Council from patents in future financial years; and how much the Medical Research Council generated from patents in each financial year since 2009-10.

Joseph Johnson: I have asked the MRC to respond to the Hon Member directly.

Medical Research Council: Patents

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which patents the Medical Research Council holds; on what date each such patent will expire; and what revenue was generated by each such patent in each financial year since 2009-10.

Joseph Johnson: I have asked the Medical Research Council to respond directly to the Hon Member.

Science: Finance

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to his Department's press release of 17 December 2014, what progress has been made on establishing the Inspiring Science Capital fund; and what timetable has been set for the establishment of that fund.

Joseph Johnson: The Inspiring Science Capital Fund was included, subject to the development of an agreed business case, in the Capital roadmap following the Science and Research Capital Consultation. We are working with the Science and Discovery centres and wider public engagement community to develop the business case.

Motor Vehicles: Hire Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether he has had discussions with his EU counterparts on competition in the European car rental market.

Anna Soubry: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has not had a meeting with his EU counterparts to discuss competition in the European car rental market.

Met Office: Research

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Met Office spent on research and development in each financial year since 2010-11.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which Government and publicly-funded bodies and agencies subscribe to Met Office services; what the value is of each such subscription; and what the termination date is of each such subscription.

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what the value is of the contracts currently delivered by the Met Office to commercial organisations.

Joseph Johnson: A large number of Government and publicly‑funded bodies subscribe to Met Office services. Revenue from this sector in 2014-15 was approximately £187m, broken down as follows: (a) Public Weather Service - £114m (b) Defence - £33m and (c) Government strategic sectors - £40m. The terms of service provision are subject to periodic review and renegotiation.   Commercial revenue was £33m in 2014-15.   Met Office expenditure on research and development is detailed in its annual report and accounts. The amount spent in the last 5 years is set out below.   Financial Year£m2010-11452011-12432012-13452013-14452014-1550

European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts: Finance

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what funding from the public purse was allocated to subscription to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts in each financial year since 2010-11; what funding has been so allocated in the present financial year; what estimate he has made of the cost of such subscription in future financial years; and from which departmental budget such subscriptions are paid.

Joseph Johnson: UK contributions to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts since 2010/11 are set out below. The annual contribution is likely to be within a similar range in future. These contributions are met through the Public Weather Service budget which is primarily funded by my Department.   Financial Year£m2010/116.52011/126.72012/136.82013/146.92014/157.0

Higher Education: Admissions

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if his Department will make an assessment of the likely effect of the abolition of student maintenance grants on widening participation in higher education.

Joseph Johnson: The Government expects to lay amendments to the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 later this year and publish an Equality Analysis when the Regulations are laid. The Equality Analysis will include an assessment of the potential impacts of the changes.

Cancer: Research

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much the Medical Research Council has spent on research projects relating to the treatment of cancer in each financial year since 2010-11.

Joseph Johnson: The Medical Research Council (MRC) is one of the main agencies through which the Government supports medical and clinical research.   The most recent information available on the MRC’s expenditure on cancer research is set out in the table. The data includes research into the biology, causes, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer as well as research on outcomes. A breakdown showing expenditure on research directly related to treatment is not currently available.   YearMRC spend on cancer research (£m)2010£107.7m2011£112.1m2012£ 95.8m2013£ 79.9m2014£ 76.2m   Source: National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Research Database (calendar year figures).

Maternity Leave

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what research and evidence he has (a) assessed and (b) commissioned on the management of maternity cover by (i) small and (ii) large employers.

Nick Boles: The Government commissioned an extensive research project into perceived pregnancy and maternity discrimination in Great Britain. The research was jointly managed and funded by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, supported by the Government Equalities Office. This research is the largest ever study of pregnancy and maternity-related discrimination conducted in Great Britain. Interim results published in July 2015 reported that 18% of employers found arranging and managing maternity cover difficult to manage. Final results, including how experiences vary by employer size, are due to be published in autumn 2015. The Government will respond when the final results are available.

Maternity Leave

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what (a) guidance and (b) support his Department provides for employers on the management of maternity cover; and what plans he has to increase such support.

Nick Boles: There is extensive guidance for employers on both Gov.uk and the Acas website on the statutory entitlement to maternity leave and pay. The Acas Helpline Online tool provides Q&A for employer and employee customers. The tool contains guidance on the working arrangements for people providing maternity cover and links to more detailed content on establishing fixed term contracts and the way in which employers should manage the process of an employee returning to work following maternity leave.Acas also provides web-based guidance on maternity leave and pay, including material on arrangements for keeping in touch with parents on one form of leave or another.In the last 12 months (September 2014 to August 2015) 1,997 customers have attended Acas training courses on issues related to working parents, including Maternity, Shared Parental Leave and operating Flexible Working.The Acas Helpline takes in the region of 50,000 calls from employers and employees on topics related to maternity, paternity and adoption each year, providing practical guidance and support for customers, including assistance in relation to maternity cover issues.Acas plans to review its web guidance on maternity during 2015 and the question of maternity cover will be covered in more detail in future guidance.In addition the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has produced a suite of frequently asked questions for employers to assist them in understanding their legal obligations and providing suggestions of good practice in managing pregnancy, maternity leave and return to work.EHRC has also produced a toolkit for employers, particularly aimed at smaller employers who do not have an HR function, which contains a stock of pre-prepared letters, check lists and ready-made policy templates. It also allows employers to keep on top of key dates with a date calculator.

Unmanned Air Vehicles: Research

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what public funding has been allocated to support the Astrea programme; what applications for funds for that programme his Department has received and under which Government programmes; and what plans he has for future funding of that programme.

Joseph Johnson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has provided grant support of £32M to support three programmes; ASTRAEA 1 and 2 and 3A since 2006. In 2015, the ASTRAEA consortium applied for additional support for a £55M collaborative programme via the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), requesting a £26M grant. The application was not approved. We continue to work with the ASTRAEA consortium and the wider Unmanned Air Vehicle community on how best to support the development of this market and will consider requests for funding support that deliver value for money for the UK.

Research: Finance

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what measure of inflation his Department uses for research and development spending; and what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) consulted in forming his policy.

Joseph Johnson: The Department currently uses the GDP deflators published by the Treasury to remove the effect of inflation from research and development (R&D) spending. The Office for National Statistics carried out some work to develop an R&D deflator; however, this work did not include a forward looking deflator so was not suitable for applying to future expenditure. We have not commissioned any research, but continue to monitor new developments in this area.

New Businesses: Government Assistance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many start-up loans the Government has made to young people under the age of (a) 25 and (b) 30 in each year since the commencement of the start-up loan scheme; what the current default rate is on such loans; and what estimate he has made of how many more such loans will be made over the next five years.

Anna Soubry: According to Start-Up Loans Company, of the 32,007 businesses funded to date, 20% have been to 18-24 year olds and 32% to 25-30 year olds. 1527 loans made to 18-24 group and 3273 loans made to 25-30 group are in default. The government is committed to increasing the number of loans to 75,000 by the end of the next Parliament.

Students: Loans

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what representations he has received about retrospective changes to the terms and conditions of student loan repayments.

Joseph Johnson: We are currently consulting on options for freezing the £21,000 post-2012 repayment threshold. The consultation is open until 14 October.

Employment Tribunals Service: Females

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many women who were (a) dismissed, (b) made compulsorily redundant and (c) treated in a way that made them leave their job issued an employment tribunal claim in 2014-15; and what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of such claims.

Nick Boles: The data provided in this PQ are taken from a live management information system and can change over time. They are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics. Data provided has been extracted specifically to answer this question and has not been cross referenced with case files. 22,562 women had claims accepted in the Employment Tribunals in 14/15. It is not possible to identify how many women within this number were made compulsory redundant, dismissed or were treated in a way that made them leave their job. The Government is committed to encouraging people to resolve their disputes at the earliest point. Employment tribunals should be the last resort where earlier attempts to resolve workplace disputes have failed. Early Conciliation was launched in April 2014 and places a requirement on anyone involved in a workplace dispute who is considering an Employment Tribunal claim to contact Acas first. This gives Acas the chance to encourage the parties to resolve their differences through conciliation without the need for an Employment Tribunal claim to be made.

Students: Loans

Stella Creasy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what timetable he has set for the introduction of Sharia compliant loans for students in higher education.

Joseph Johnson: The Government supports the introduction of a Sharia-compliant Alternative Finance product (Takaful) available to everyone. Currently the Secretary of State has the powers to offer loans and grants. The Government would require new primary legislation to enable the Secretary of State to offer the Alternative Finance product. The Government response to the consultation is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/sharia-compliant-student-finance.

Children: Poverty

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the effect of the proposed national living wage on (a) absolute and (b) relative child poverty by 2020.

Nick Boles: The Government has not estimated the impact of the National Living Wage (NLW) on absolute or relative child poverty in 2020.   Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts suggest a full-time National Minimum Wage worker will earn over £5,200 more by 2020 from the National Living Wage. 2.75 million low wage workers will benefit directly.   By 2017-18, 8 out of 10 working households are forecast to be better off as a result of the personal allowance, national living wage and welfare changes announced in the Summer Budget. 17.7 million households will benefit in total.

Research: Pay

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has had discussions with Research Councils on the effect of pay freezes by that body on the research sector.

Joseph Johnson: My Department holds regular discussions with the Research Councils, including on cost effectiveness and their ability to compete internationally for the best researchers.   As announced in Budget 2014, Research Council Institutes have been exempted from the wider public sector pay cap.

Gratuities

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to ensure employers fairly collect and distribute tips left by customers.

Sajid Javid: This Government is committed to making sure everyone is paid fairly. I am concerned by recent reports, suggesting some restaurants pocket tips for themselves. That is just not right. I have therefore ordered an investigation into tipping abuse, which closes on 10 November.

Low Pay

Matt Warman: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he is taking to support people on low pay.

Nick Boles: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 15 September 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Apprenticeships are the best form of further education, and we will fund as many as we can. Beyond that we target funding on those who most need help: people of all ages without English and maths, young adults to achieve level 2 or level 3 qualifications, and unemployed people who need help to get a job. Nearly 3 million low-paid people will directly benefit from the National Living Wage from April next year. A full-time worker on the current National Minimum Wage will be made £1,200 better off, per year, as a result. Our long-term economic plan is working and we will ensure that the hard work of the British people is recognised through our new National Living Wage.

Nick Boles: Apprenticeships are the best form of further education, and we will fund as many as we can. Beyond that we target funding on those who most need help: people of all ages without English and maths, young adults to achieve level 2 or level 3 qualifications, and unemployed people who need help to get a job. Nearly 3 million low-paid people will directly benefit from the National Living Wage from April next year. A full-time worker on the current National Minimum Wage will be made £1,200 better off, per year, as a result. Our long-term economic plan is working and we will ensure that the hard work of the British people is recognised through our new National Living Wage.

Further Education: Finance

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in funding for further education on young people.

Nick Boles: Apprenticeships are the best form of further education, and we will fund as many as we can. Beyond that we target funding on those who most need help: people of all ages without English and maths, young adults to achieve level 2 or level 3 qualifications, and unemployed people who need help to get a job.

Industrial Development: Deeside

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent discussions he has had with Ministers in the Welsh Government on economic development in the Deeside area.

Sajid Javid: There have not been any recent discussions with Ministers in the Welsh Government about economic development in the Deeside area.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces: Deployment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) average and (b) maximum period for duty in battle zones is for (i) army, (ii) Royal Navy and (iii) RAF personnel.

Penny Mordaunt: Each Service has Harmony Guidelines for the amount of time any individual should spend away from their home unit (whether in battle zones or performing other duties) including time on deployment. A breach of Individual Harmony Guidelines occurs when Service personnel experience separated service for longer than the period outlined in Individual Harmony Guidelines. These are: for the Royal Navy/Royal Marines, no more than 660 days away over a 36 month period; for the Army, no more than 498 days away away over a 36 month period; and for the Royal Air Force, no more than 468 days away over a 36 month period. These guidelines are different for each Service reflecting the differing structures of, and differing roles and duties undertaken by, each Service. The latest figures on single Service levels of harmony breaches were released by the Department as an official statistic (as part of the Monthly Service Personnel Statistics publication) on 10 September 2015 and are linked below.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/459461/Service_Personnel_Statistics-1-August-2015.pdf#page=10

Navy: Vacancies

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many ships cannot go to sea due to shortages in specialist personnel.

Penny Mordaunt: None.

Nuclear Submarines

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what modifications will be needed at HMNB Clyde and RNAD Coulport to accept the successor submarine programme; what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of adapting the ship-lift facility at HMNB Clyde to accommodate the successor to the Vanguard class submarine; and how much of the money announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 31 August 2015 will be used to undertake that work.

Mr Philip Dunne: On 31 August 2015, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that at least £500 million would be made available for the Royal Navy's flagship submarine base HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane, securing 6,700 jobs and creating thousands more.The project to make the necessary adaptations to accommodate the Successor submarine programme at Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde and Royal Naval Armament Depot Coulport is in its Assessment Phase. The number and scope of modifications will not be known until these assessments are complete.Similarly, it is not possible to establish precise costings until the project is more mature.

Defence: Argyll and Bute

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the total value of defence-related contracts placed by his Department with suppliers based in Argyll and Bute constituency was in each of the last five years.

Mr Philip Dunne: The value of Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts placed in each of the last five years where work is undertaken in the Argyll and Bute constituency is provided below. The analysis includes work undertaken at Her Majesty's Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde, but excludes work undertaken at HMNB Clyde under the £2.6 billion Maritime Support Delivery Framework with Babcock, as the work is split between HMNBs Devonport and Clyde. YearCurrent total value of contracts (£ million) 2010-1111.92011-120.52012-13171.4*2013-1440.02014-1519.5 * The large increase in 2012-13 is due to a £162.2 million contract with AWE for Strategic Weapon Support.

Nuclear Engineering

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) Ministerial colleagues and (b) the civil nuclear industry on the provision of nuclear engineers; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to recruit nuclear engineers from the civil sector; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: A number of engineering graduates and apprentices are recruited each year to the Ministry of Defence (MOD)'s civilian workforce and trained as nuclear specialists. This is supplemented by lateral entry of personnel with established nuclear skills, including engineers from the wider market and former Royal Navy personnel.The Government recognises that both the civil and Defence Nuclear Programmes must be sustained. I have discussed this issue with Ministerial colleagues from other Government Departments over the last year and the Government's approach to generating the skills needed was published in "Sustaining Our Nuclear Skills" on 20 March 2015, available at the following link: http://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustaining-our-nuclear-skills. MOD officials attend the Nuclear Industry Council and the Nuclear Owner's Group at which these issues are discussed with representatives of both the civil and defence industry.

Military Exercises

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assets were involved in the Triplex Warrior exercise from (a) the UK, (b) NATO members and (c) non-NATO members in the (i) 2015 and (ii) 2014 exercise; what facilities in the North Sea were defended in the exercise; and if any maritime patrol aircraft took part.

Penny Mordaunt: The following assets were involved in the exercises Android Preference in 2014 and Triplex Warrior 2015:   2014 Ex Android Preference2015 Ex Triplex WarriorRAFTyphoonTornadoE-3D SentrySentinelVoyagerHawkUK Air Surveillance andControl SystemTyphoonTornadoE-3D SentrySentinelVoyagerHawkUK Air Surveillance and Control SystemChinookNavySea KingType-45NilArmyNilJoint Tactical Air Controllers (JTAC)NATOUnited States Air Force (USAF) F-15CUSAF F-15EUSAF 321st SpecialTactics SquadronRoyal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF)F-16AMUSAF F-15CUSAF F-15EUSAF KC-135USAF F-22AUSAF C-17USAF F-16CUSAF HH-60GRNLAF F-16AM Non-NATONilNil  No facilities were defended in the North Sea as the exercises used simulated military targets which did not physically exist. No maritime patrol aircraft took part in the training.

Submarines: Accidents

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the results of the Board of Inquiry into the incident involving a submarine and the fishing vessel Karen will be published.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what investigations were carried out by his Department prior to the statement that no UK submarines were within 150 miles of the incident involving the fishing vessel Karen.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the name was of the submarine involved in an incident with the fishing vessel Karen in April 2015; and which other Royal Navy vessels were in the area at that time.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the submarine involved in the incident with the fishing vessel Karen did not surface immediately.

Brendan O'Hara: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the incident involving a submarine and the fishing vessel Karen took place; and when his Department was first informed of the submarine's involvement.

Penny Mordaunt: The incident involving a Royal Navy (RN) submarine and the Fishing Vessel Karen took place on 15 April 2015. No other RN vessels were in the area at the time. On information available at the time, the RN was confident that no UK submarine was involved.Detailed analysis of operational records is routine and this revealed that a UK submarine was involved in this incident. The submarine was not aware of the incident at the time and, therefore, did not surface.Once this new information was confirmed, the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend, the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon) was informed on 6 August.During August, I held meetings to establish the facts, question the RN and discuss changes to policy to ensure the safety of fishing vessels. I then took the earliest opportunity to inform the House and put the public record straight on 7 September.The RN is conducting an investigation of the circumstance surrounding this incident. Consideration will be given in due course to the information that could be released, within the bounds of operational security.I am withholding further information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.

Ministry of Defence: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many officials in his Department are engaged in research into the effects of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which external organisations officials in his Department have met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which external organisations he has met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many times he has met each such organisation.

Mr Julian Brazier: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. The Secretary of State for Defence and Ministry of Defence officials regularly meet with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/search?q=Ministerial+meetings+with+external+organisations. Government Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government's priorities in Europe.

Military Aircraft: Surveillance

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to improve the UK's aerial intelligence capacity.

Penny Mordaunt: Last year, the Ministry of Defence agreed an £800 million package of investment in joint capabilities. This package included a number of air Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capabilities. Further investment in ISTAR and supporting analytical capability is being considered as part of Strategic Defence and Security Review 15.

Ministry of Defence Police: Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 27 January 2015 to the hon. Member for Moray to Question 222334, what the conclusions are of the Ministry of Defence Police Professional Standards investigation into disciplinary matters relating to police officers based at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Burghfield; and if he will place a copy of that investigation report in the Library.

Mark Lancaster: The misconduct process relating to Ministry of Defence Police officers based at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield has not yet been fully concluded. Once completed, a report will be prepared by the Chief Constable and submitted to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

Ministry of Defence: Nuclear Installations

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to publish the results of his review of the defence nuclear enterprise.

Mr Philip Dunne: We regularly review all major programmes, including those relating to the nuclear deterrent, to ensure that they continue to operate in the most efficient and effective manner possible.

AWE Aldermaston: Nuclear Reactors

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Atomic Weapons Establishment review of how best to achieve the customer requirements for Project Pegasus was (a) started and (b) completed.

Mr Philip Dunne: Consistent with industry best practice, Pegasus is under regular review to ensure it meets the Ministry of Defence's requirements effectively. There is no specific closing date for this activity as it will continue through the life of the project.

Iraq: Military Intervention

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to use the NATO Incirlik Air Base in Turkey during operations against Daesh in Iraq.

Penny Mordaunt: RAF aircraft taking part in action against ISIL are based at a range of locations in the region. None are currently based at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey and there are no immediate plans to do so. However, we continue to keep our options under review and welcome Turkey's decision to allow the use of its bases to counter ISIL.

Afghanistan: Immigration

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his policy is on the relocation to the UK of interpreters who have worked for the British Army in Afghanistan.

Penny Mordaunt: Her Majesty's Government has two policies under which locally employed civilians may be relocated to the UK.Our Ex-Gratia redundancy scheme offers relocation to the UK to some 500 current and former local staff made redundant as a result of the drawdown of forces announced on 19 December 2012.Our Intimidation Policy assists all current and former local staff members regardless of dates or length of employment, whose safety has been threatened because of their work with us. Staff may also be relocated either locally or to the UK, should this be required to ensure their safety in the face of employment-related intimidation. Thirty staff have been relocated locally under this policy and one person has been relocated to the UK.These policies are kept under review to ensure their effectiveness.

Afghanistan: Immigration

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many interpreters who have worked for the British Army in Afghanistan have been relocated to the UK in each of the last six months.

Penny Mordaunt: Over the last six months we relocated the following numbers of Locally Employed Staff (LES) including former interpreters and their immediate families. MonthLESImmediate FamilyTotal March172542April192544May242650June39948July183351August2810Total119126245 Visas have been issued for a further 32 LES and 65 family members who we expect to be relocated shortly. Visa applications for the relocation of 80 LES and 160 family members are being processed.

Army: Legal Opinion

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what legal support is provided by his Department to members of the British Army in cases related to military combat operations within the UK.

Penny Mordaunt: Ministry of Defence Lawyers will be involved in the strategic elements of the initial preparation and deployment which includes the legal basis and parameters, through to the operation itself and the post operational legal issues including any resulting litigation against the department or its personnel

Army: Rules of Engagement

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what statutory provisions provide for members of the British Army to conduct military combat operations in the UK.

Penny Mordaunt: The deployment of the British Army in combat operations in the UK is provided for under Royal Prerogative.The legal authority to use Service personnel in operations under Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) is governed by the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the Emergency Powers Act 1964 (Section 2).

Veterans: Mental Health Services

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assistance the Government is providing to armed forces veterans with post-traumatic stress syndrome and depression.

Mark Lancaster: The provision of veterans' healthcare, including for those affected by post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, is primarily the responsibility of the National Health Service in England and the Devolved Administrations. Veterans in England, Scotland and Wales are entitled to priority access to secondary healthcare for conditions suspected to be due to their service in the Armed Forces, subject to the clinical needs of others.In his March 2015 Budget, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that the Government would provide £8.4 million over the next five years to expand mental health services for veterans in England. This follows investment of over £7 million in the last Parliament. In addition, over £13 million from the LIBOR fund has been awarded to support mental health programmes in the Armed Forces Community.The Ministry of Defence is determined to ensure that veterans who require help are provided with appropriate support including through the Veterans UK helpline; Veterans Welfare Service and the Veterans and Reserves Mental Health Programme (VRMHP) which provides mental health assessments for veterans with operational Service since 1982.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Enterprise Zones: Job Creation

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many new jobs have been created in each Enterprise Zone in each financial year since 2010-11; and what estimate he has made of the proportion of jobs at each Enterprise Zone which have been moved to other locations.

James Wharton: Enterprise Zones have reported that they have attracted over 19,000 jobs since they started in 2012. Data on the proportion of jobs at each Enterprise Zone which have been moved to other locations is not available. Applications for new Enterprise Zones are not approved where there is considered to be a high likelihood that existing businesses will transfer to the site from neighbouring areas.

Social Rented Housing

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effects of changes in the Summer Budget 2015 to the level of rents paid by social tenants on the construction of new social housing.

Brandon Lewis: We made a commitment in the Summer Budget to reduce social rents in England by one per cent a year for four years from April 2016. This will help protect tenants from rising housing costs whilst protecting taxpayers from the rising costs of subsidising rents through housing benefit. We are confident that local authorities and private registered providers will be able to find and make efficiencies to accommodate the new rent settlement and we remain committed to delivering 275,000 affordable homes over the course of this Parliament.

Housing Stock: Landlords

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to monitor availability of homes in the Buy to Let category in the UK.

Brandon Lewis: Analysts in my Department monitor the buy to let market on a regular basis. Their analysis and estimates for the sector are based on data the Department has purchased from the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This is a private database with commercial in confidence data. Officials in my Department also have a wide range of meetings with lenders (both professional bodies such as Council for Mortgage Lender and Building Society Association) to monitor the buy to let market.

Communities and Local Government: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which external organisations officials in his Department have met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

James Wharton: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Officials regularly meet with a range of organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe.

Councillors

Stephen McPartland: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans he has to reduce the number of local government elected representatives.

Mr Marcus Jones: Provisions we are seeking in the Cities and Local Government Devolution Bill, if enacted, will allow a local authority to propose a reduction in the number of councillors as part of a devolution deal.

Communities and Local Government: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many officials in his Department are engaged in research into the effects of the UK leaving the EU.

James Wharton: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe.

Communities and Local Government: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, which external organisations he has met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many times he has met each such organisation.

James Wharton: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government's priorities in Europe.The Secretary of State regularly meets with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly.

Social Rented Housing: Young People

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many people (a) under 18 and (b) under 16 years of age have been allocated social housing since 2013; and what proportion of such people had children of their own.

Brandon Lewis: Information on social housing lettings is collected in the Department through the COntinuous REcording of Social lettings (CORE). From April 2013 to March 2014, there were 8,597 social housing lettings made to people under 18 years old, 9% (738) of which lived with a child in the same household. Of these, 14 tenants were under 16 and 21% (3) of them had a child in the same household.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments in respect of carbon offsetting were made in each such year.

David Mundell: The Scotland Office made no payments in respect of carbon offsetting in each of the last three years.

Scotland Office: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which external organisations he has met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many times he has met each such organisation.

David Mundell: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. I regularly meet with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly.

Scotland Office: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, how many officials in his Department are engaged in research into the effects of the UK leaving the EU.

David Mundell: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe.

Scotland Office: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, which external organisations officials in his Department have met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

David Mundell: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Officials regularly meet with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe.

Women and Equalities

Females: Broadband

Philip Davies: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, how much funding has been allocated to Women and Broadband projects in each area in (a) 2015-16 and (b) each of the previous three years.

Caroline Dinenage: The Women and Broadband Challenge Fund was launched in May 2014 to help women to take full advantage of superfast broadband to either start a business or to work from home. The programme was extended to the current year with a further investment of £1.1m. The information is in the tables.  Funding 2015-16 Funding 2014-15  AreaFunding Allocation Area Funding AllocationCambridgeshire£49,390 Cambridgeshire£75,000Central Bedfordshire and Milton Keynes£50,000 Central Bedfordshire£75,000Devon and Somerset£60,000 Cheshire£75,000Dorset£50,000 Devon & Somerset£75,000Durham£74,260 Dorset£75,000East Sussex£68,000 East Sussex£75,000Greater Manchester and Cheshire£87,000 Greater Manchester and Stockport£75,000Herefordshire and Gloucestershire£54,500 Herefordshire and Gloucestershire£48,900Kent£69,900 Kent£74,960Leicestershire£66,700 Newcastle£75,000Northumberland£71,000 Northampton shire£23,000Oxfordshire£72,250 Shropshire£75,000Shropshire, Staffordshire and Telford and Wrekin£146,000 Staffordshire£67,000South Yorkshire£67,000 Suffolk/Norfolk£41,364West Yorkshire£60,000 Surrey£75,000Worcestershire£54,000 Worcestershire£75,000

Department for Transport

Department for Transport: Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments in respect of carbon offsetting were made in each such year.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Our records show the following payments were made:   - In 2012 we paid a total of £6209.26 to RWE Supply and Trading Switzerland SA   - In March 2014 we made a payment of £448.02 to EDF Trading.   We have no other payments recorded on our system since the last payment.

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: Redundancy

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many civil servants in each region have been made redundant or left the service following closure of the regional DVLA offices.

Andrew Jones: The table below shows the number of civil servants from each region who either took voluntary or compulsory redundancy or left the civil service through other means as a result of the closure of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s local offices.Region Number of staff who opted to take voluntary redundancyNumber of staff who accepted compulsory redundancyNumber of staff who left the civil service by means other than redundancyScotland and Borders85351Northern England99542North Wales and Central England65422South Wales and West England45160East Midlands and Anglia82631South East England99542South West England and Thames56380

Department for Transport: Consultants

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list what policy evaluations have been carried out by external organisations for his Department and its agencies in each financial year since 2010-11; whether the output of those evaluations was published; which organisation carried out each such evaluation; and what the value of each contract to provide that evaluation was.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The attached table lists evaluation projects which have been carried out by external organisations for the Department and its agencies in the requested period, in order of commissioning year. This includes all the evaluations that we have been able to identify from our central records and is likely to represent the substantial majority of qualifying activity in this period. As requested, details are provided on whether the output of those evaluations has been published, organisations carrying them out and values of contracts. The table below shows all projects with any activity since 2010-11 including a number which were commissioned before the period and finished during it. Around £8.5million has been spent on projects which started from 2011 to date whereas around £10million was spent on projects which started before 2011 and finished in this period.   Some of this information is now covered in annual published updates for the Department’s Monitoring and Evaluation Programme. This programme was established in 2013 after publication of the Department’s Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy. Relevant links are provided below.2014 Programme update: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-monitoring-and-evaluation-programme-2014 2013 Programme: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-monitoring-and-evaluation-programme-2013 Monitoring & Evaluation Strategy (2013): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/monitoring-and-evaluation-strategy   



UIN 9255 - Table of Evaluation Projects 
(Word Document, 17.55 KB)

Shipping: Forecasts

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to which publicly-funded bodies and organisations the Maritime and Coastguard Agency makes the shipping forecasts provided by the Met Office available.

Mr Robert Goodwill: All marine weather forecasts produced by the Met Office on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) are made freely available in the public domain. These marine weather services, of which the Shipping Forecast is one, are delivered to the MCA for broadcast by Her Majesty’s Coastguard (HMCG), but are also made publically available via the Met Office website, the BBC, and other media outlets.   The Shipping Forecast is made specifically available to the BBC for broadcast on Radio 4, but is also freely available on request to any public-funded body or organisation, subject to it being used appropriately, in its original form, and with acknowledgement of the Met Office and the MCA as the source.

Severn River Crossing

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate his Department has made of the amount of debt that will remain outstanding after the current concession for operating the Severn Bridge expires; and between which bodies that debt will be distributed.

Andrew Jones: The current estimate of the Department for Transport is that the level of the outstanding debt following the end of the Severn River Crossings concession will be £88 million. This money is due to be repaid to the consolidated fund.

Department for Transport: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which external organisations officials in his Department have met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Officials regularly meet with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe.

Department for Transport: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which external organisations he has met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many times he has met each such organisation.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The　Government　is focused　on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. The Secretary of State regularly meets with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are currently being updated and will be published in due course.

Met Office: Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the value is of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) contract with the Met Office to provide the shipping forecast; what the terms and termination date of that contract are; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision by the BBC to terminate its weather contract with the Met Office on the latter's contract with the MCA.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The value of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) contract with the Met Office for provision of The Shipping Forecast is: £188,000 (excl. VAT). This is one element of a wider marine weather service that the Met Office delivers on behalf of the MCA. The total contract value for these combined services is £725,000 (excl. VAT). The current contract term is for one year and will expire on 31 March 2016.  With respect to the BBC’s decision not to renew its weather contract with the Met Office, this is a separate provision to the arrangements in place for The Shipping Forecast. Consequently, there will be no impact and the BBC will continue to broadcast The Shipping Forecast using data supplied by the Met Office.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor the usage of and (b) prevent accidents involving unmanned drones in airspace over the UK.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Government recognises that this emerging technology has great opportunities for the UK. However the Government is aware that there are safety and security issues that need to be addressed.The Civil Aviation Authority has recently launched a publicity campaign called "You have control. Be safe! Be legal!’’　 which is aimed at raising awareness of the general public, at the point of purchase, about their responsibilities as the unmanned aircraft operator.   The Government is currently talking to industry partners about the development of an online application to track and manage small drones. The Government has received several proposals for such an application, but the development of this technology is still at an embryonic stage.   The Government is also in early discussions with international partners about a drone traffic management system, and it is hoped that those discussions will lead to UK involvement in the development of that system and the participation of UK industry in future trials to test the robustness of the technology. Some drones are already equipped with ‘geo-fencing’ to prevent operation in controlled airspace.   There will be a public consultation on drones in spring 2016. This will give the public a chance to engage on these, and other, important issues concerning drones.

Road Traffic Offences: Speed Limits

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what comparative assessment his Department has made of methods used in other European countries to detect and prevent speeding offences.

Andrew Jones: The Department has not carried out a formal comparative assessment of methods used in other European countries to detect and prevent speeding. However, the Department does have ongoing discussions with other Member States on road safety issues, including tackling speed. The Department also regularly requests European comparisons when carrying out research into road safety topics.

Railways: Fares

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the overall cost to his Department of increasing the cost of regulated national rail fares in line with the retail price index between 2014 and 2020.

Claire Perry: I refer the Hon Member to my answer of 3 June to the Hon Member for Newport West (Paul Flynn), UIN 95(http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&member=545&uin=95).  In addition I can confirm that we understand that passengers are concerned about the cost of rail fares. That is why we have capped regulated fare increases at RPI for the past two years and will continue to do so for the lifetime of this Parliament. This has resulted in wages rising faster than fares for the first time since 2002. We have also reduced the non-cumulative flex from 5 per cent introduced by Labour to 0 per cent in 2015. 　We will continue this policy for the lifetime of this Parliament.   The Government will continue to place passengers at the heart of our rail policy alongside the record investment of £38.5 billion.

Railways: Repairs and Maintenance

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the potential safety implications of reducing Network Rail's Control Period 5 maintenance and renewals delivery volumes.

Claire Perry: Network Rail is responsible for planning and delivering maintenance and renewals volumes in order to ensure a safe, reliable and efficient railway. In doing so it is monitored by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), the health and safety regulator for the railway, which in its latest Health and Safety Report (published 21 July 2015) highlighted that Britain’s railways are now the safest in Europe, but warned that the industry cannot become complacent. In June 2015, ORR, reviewing Network Rail’s plans for the remainder of 2015-16, noted to the Department for Transport that whilst the current safety performance of the network is good, Network Rail had not been successful in delivering all of its maintenance and renewals volumes so far in Control Period 5 (CP5). Network Rail is currently in the process of updating its Delivery Plan for CP5 and ORR will feed into that process its comments on the safety, sustainability and efficiency of the revised plan.

Railways: Expenditure

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, by what mechanisms he is permitted to reduce the Control Period 5 spending levels for the railway set by the Office of Rail and Road's Final Determination, published on 10 April 2014.

Claire Perry: The periodic review 2013 settlement set the outputs and the funding requirement for Control Period 5 that Network Rail is required to deliver to. The Secretary of State has overall responsibility for administering two of Network Rail’s sources of cash: the network grant for England and Wales, which is set in line with the funding requirements set by the periodic review settlement, and the loan agreement signed on 4 July 2014. The Government remains committed to providing the funds agreed and seeing Network Rail’s ambitious programme delivered.

Railways: North West

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of the withdrawal of Balfour Beatty from the North West electrification programme on the delivery timetable for that project.

Andrew Jones: We are fully committed to the North West electrification programme as part of our ambitious plans for the North of England. A full transition plan is in place to ensure that delivery of North West Electrification continues at pace.

Directly Operated Railways

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 4 November 2014 to Question 212595, when he plans for his Department's review of the future activities of Directly Operated Railways to be concluded.

Claire Perry: The Department is currently considering the long term options for securing provision to discharge the Secretary of State’s duties under Section 30 of the Railways Act 1993.   In the meantime the existing management team at Directly Operated Railways are fully engaged in supporting the Department on the Franchising Direct Awards Programme. The focus of their work is to ensure that the company is ready to step in as the Secretary of State’s operator of last resort should any of the remaining Direct Awards fail to reach a successful commercial conclusion.   The company is also on standby to mobilise an operator of last resort company in the event that an existing rail franchise is terminated and is not immediately replaced.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Foreign and Commonwealth Office: Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments in respect of carbon offsetting were made in each such year.

Mr David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) publishes the amount it sets aside for the purchase of Gold Standard Certified Emissions Reductions (CERS) each year in its Annual Statement of Accounts. Actual purchase of CERS is undertaken in the subsequent Financial Year (FY) through auction of the Government Carbon Offsetting Facility (GCOF). In FY 2012/13 the FCO set aside £26,419. Actual expenditure was £10,139.16In FY 2013/14 the FCO set aside £39,962. Actual expenditure was £25,010.92In FY 2014/15 the FCO has set aside £31,972. GCOF auction is scheduled for 22 September 2015. For FY 12/13 and FY 13/14 the supplier was EDF Trading Carbon Footprint Ltd. The supplier for FY 14/15 will not be known until the auction convenes later in September.

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong, covering the period of 1 July to 31 December 2014 relating to the decision of the PRC Government to ban the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee from conducting an official inquiry by taking evidence within the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, whether he obtained legal advice on international law before its publication, and if he placed a record of all understandings and agreements reached by both countries under the Joint Declaration and subsequently through the Joint Liaison Group before the Foreign Affairs Committee before compiling the report; for what reasons universal suffrage was not incorporated in the Joint Declaration; and if the Government will take steps to encourage implementation of Article 45 of the Basic Law and immediately release all understandings and agreements reached by the Joint Liaison Group relating to Article 45 prior to 1990.

Mr Hugo Swire: We have made clear, repeatedly, that the decision to refuse to allow the members of the previous Foreign Affairs Committee to enter Hong Kong in December 2014 was wholly unjustified and counter-productive. The Government did not obtain legal advice on international law before publishing the Six-Monthly Report on Hong Kong in question. Neither did it place a record of understandings and agreements reached by the UK and China before the Foreign Affairs Committee. The Joint Declaration does not refer to universal suffrage, but it provides for the Chief Executive to be selected by election or consultations and the legislature to be constituted by elections. The Government has made clear that implementation of Article 45 of the Basic Law is the best way to guarantee Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity, and continued momentum towards that goal is essential. There are no plans to release agreements reached by the Joint Liaison Group.

Iraq: Armed Conflict

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his French counterpart on air strikes in Iraq.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The Foreign Secretary has regular discussions with his French counterpart on a range of issues.Alongside the more than sixty members of the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, the UK and France are working closely together to defeat and degrade ISIL and counter violent extremism more widely. This includes undertaking airstrikes against ISIL targets in Iraq.

Hong Kong: Politics and Government

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will consider altering the frequency of the Government's report to Parliament on Hong Kong from six-monthly to yearly.

Mr Hugo Swire: There are no plans to alter the frequency of Her Majesty's Government reports on Hong Kong from six monthly to yearly.

Afghanistan: Ethnic Groups

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Afghan counterpart on the treatment of the Hazara people in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our Embassy in Kabul regularly meets Hazara representatives to discuss minority issues and Hazaran representation in the National Unity Government, including 2nd Vice President Danish in September; Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah’s adviser, Dr Habibi Sorabi, in June; and 2nd Deputy to the CEO Abdullah, Mohammed Mohaqeq, in March, where concerns regarding the kidnaps of Hazaras were raised. We raised our concerns regarding minority rights with the Government of Afghanistan during Afghanistan’s Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in 2014.

Department for International Development

Yemen: Politics and Government

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian situation in Aden.

Stephen Gethins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian situation in Yemen.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The humanitarian situation in Yemen is now one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. According to the UN, 21 million Yemenis - more than 80% of the population - are in need of humanitarian assistance. Of those, over 6 million people are facing severe food shortages, with households struggling to meet their daily needs. In particular, 1.8 million children require access to life-saving nutrition services. In Hodeidah city alone, UNICEF has warned that 96,000 severely malnourished children are at risk of dying. According to the UN, the total population of Aden is in need of humanitarian assistance, with one of the highest numbers of populations displaced as a result of the conflict. The people of Aden have been affected by reduced access to basic services, including healthcare, food, and clean drinking water in recent months due to the impact of ongoing conflict and food insecurity and malnutrition. The UK is one of the largest donors to the crisis and has so far announced £55 million to help vulnerable people across Yemen. This is providing vital medical supplies, water, food and emergency shelter.

Department for International Development: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, how many officials in her Department are engaged in research into the effects of the UK leaving the EU.

Grant Shapps: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Departments are appropriately resourced to support the Government’s priorities in Europe.

Department for International Development: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which external organisations she has met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many times she has met each such organisation.

Grant Shapps: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Ministers regularly meet with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe. Details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published quarterly.

Department for International Development: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, which external organisations officials in her Department have met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

Grant Shapps: The Government is focused on delivering a successful renegotiation: it believes it can and will succeed in reforming and renegotiating our relationship with the EU and campaigning to keep the UK in the EU on that basis. Ministers and officials regularly meet with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe.

Syria: Humanitarian Aid

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of her Department's budget has been dedicated to the humanitarian crisis in Syria; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK has allocated over £1billion for the Syria crisis response since 2012; our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. We are the second largest bilateral donor after the US. Our support has reached hundreds of thousands of people across in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt. By the end of June 2015, our support in Syria and the region had delivered over 19 million food rations, each of which feeds one person for one month; provided access to clean water for 1.6 million people; over 2.5 million medical consultations; shelter for over 416,000 people; relief items for 4.5 million people; and resulted in 7.2 million instances when people benefited from sanitation and hygiene activities.

Department for Education

School Meals: Salt

Sir Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to reduce salt content in school meals.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The School Food Standards severely restrict foods high in salt. Foods high in salt are included in Schedule 3 of the School Food Standards, which came into effect this January. The standards are available at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1603/pdfs/uksi_20141603_en.pdf

Teachers: Training

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to introduce mandatory mental health training for education professionals.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We recognise that education professionals have a vital role to play in raising concerns about eating disorders and other mental health needs, as well as providing early support where mental health problems have been identified. We believe that schools are best placed to make decisions about the training needs of their staff, and there is a range of training available. In particular we have supported the development of MindEd, a free online portal funded by the Department of Health, which enables all adults working with children and young people to learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them.   To support schools further we have funded the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Association to produce guidance and primary and secondary key stages lesson plans on teaching about mental health and emotional wellbeing. These lesson plans cover all the key stages and topics covered at Key Stage 3 and 4.   We have issued advice on mental health and behaviour which clarifies the responsibility of the school, points to tools that can be used to help them identify pupils that may be experiencing a mental health problem, and outlines what they can do to provide a stable environment that builds good mental health in all pupils. This includes a section on identifying eating disorders and outlines the types of support and treatment that can be offered: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mental-health-and-behaviour-in-schools--2. We have worked with experts to produce guidance on what makes for good school-based counselling, including how it can be effective in the context of whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/counselling-in-schools To help teachers understand mental health,- we are contributing £1.5 million to a joint training pilot with NHS England which aims to improve the knowledge of mental health issues with key schools and CAMHS staff and develop effective local route ways for pupils who need access to specialist mental health services.   To drive specific improvements in support for young people with eating disorders, the government has made £150 million available over the next 5 years through NHS England. More widely, an additional £1.25 billion funding is being made available over the next five years to transform children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and accessible services.

Teachers: Training

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what training education professionals receive on identifying eating disorders and signposting support and treatment; and what guidance her Department issues to schools on eating disorders.

Mr Sam Gyimah: We recognise that education professionals have a vital role to play in raising concerns about eating disorders and other mental health needs, as well as providing early support where mental health problems have been identified. We believe that schools are best placed to make decisions about the training needs of their staff, and there is a range of training available. In particular we have supported the development of MindEd, a free online portal funded by the Department of Health, which enables all adults working with children and young people to learn more about specific mental health problems and how to support them. MindEd includes information on eating disorders and more information can be found online at: https://www.minded.org.uk/   To support schools further we have funded the Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) Association to produce guidance and primary and secondary key stages lesson plans on teaching about mental health and emotional wellbeing. These lesson plans cover all the key stages and topics covered at Key Stage 3 and 4, including promoting emotional wellbeing, healthy coping strategies and eating disorders. The Government Equalities Office has worked with a range of bodies, including the Advertising Association and the National Citizen Service, to develop materials that support good practice and encourage young people to become more informed and resilient consumers of media content; and with the PSHE Association to provide guidance for teachers on delivering body image lessons using accredited resources.   To drive specific improvements in support for young people with eating disorders, the government has made £150 million available over the next 5 years through NHS England. More widely, an additional £1.25 billion funding is being made available over the next five years to transform children and young people’s mental health services to deliver more integrated and accessible services.

Education

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the rationale is for attainment at Key Stage Level 4 being selected as the education indicator in the proposed Life Chance reports.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The end of Key Stage 4 is a vital point in a young person’s education. It represents the culmination of a child’s education from the early years to age 16 and provides a consistent point at which to measure attainment across all young people.   Successful attainment at Key Stage 4 underpins future life chances. We want all young people to be well prepared for further education, higher education and work.

Church Commissioners

Cemeteries

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the right hon. Member for Meriden, representing the Church Commissioners, which Church of England dioceses have published regulations on monuments on burial plots and inscriptions on gravestones; which dioceses (a) allow and (b) do not allow nicknames on gravestones; which dioceses allow monuments; which dioceses (i) allow and (ii) do not allow pictorial etchings on gravestones; and which dioceses (A) allow and (B) do not allow free-standing containers on burial plots.

Mrs Caroline Spelman: The information requested is not held centrally, while there is central guidance available, each Diocese and Parish applies the regulations to their local circumstances. Without more specific information about which parish is being referred to in the question further comment is not further comment is not possible.  Our advice would be to contact the Diocesan Registrar for Blackburn will know how these regulations are applied locally. The Registrar can be contacted at the Diocesan Office: Church House, Cathedral Close, Blackburn, BB1 5AA You may also wish to refer to page 4 of the Diocesan guide to the churchyard regulations available at the following link. This document gives the general advice for the Diocese of Blackburn. http://www.blackburn.anglican.org/images/Information/Churchyard%20Regulations%202014.pdf

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Carbon Emissions

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much his Department spent on carbon offsetting in each of the last three years; and to which companies payments in respect of carbon offsetting were made in each such year.

Mr Edward Vaizey: We pay an annual fee of £1290 as part of the Government's CRC (Carbon Reduction Commitment) Energy Efficiency Scheme. Payments are made to the Environment Agency.

Mass Media and Telecommunications

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which organisations owned the largest market share of (a) national radio, (b) local radio, (c) digital radio, (d) television other than pay-per-view, (e) pay-per-view television, (f) telecommunications and (g) newspapers in (i) 2000, (ii) 2005, (iii) 2010 and (iv) 2015; and what that market share was in each such case.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Ofcom have provided data for these markets, including information from its published annual Communications Market Reports. RadioShare of all radio (analogue and digital) listening hours (all adults 15+) 2000200520102015BBC network services39.8%43.1%46.3%46.9%BBC nations/local services11.2%10.9%8.9%7.6%National commercial stations7.5%10.2%11.1%14.2%Local commercial services38.8%33.8%31.5%28.6%Other (incl. community radio)1.8%2.0%2.2%2.8%Total100%100%100%100%Source: Ofcom CMR/RAJAR; figures may not equal 100% due to rounding Share of all radio industry revenues 2000200520102014All BBC48%54%59%59%All National commercial32%24%19%20%All Local commercial14%15%12%11%Sponsorship (commercial)6%7%8%7%Total commercial52%46%39%38%Other (community radio)--2%3%Source: Ofcom CMR/RAJAR TelevisionTV Households (millions) 2001200520102014Pay digital satellite (Sky)4.207.1410.079.18Free to view digital satellite (Freesat)0.110.550.602.04Digital cable (Virgin)2.022.983.803.91Analogue cable1.610.300.090.00Digital Terrestrial only (Freeview)0.865.0410.3410.46Analogue Terrestrial Only14.889.161.450.00Total (millions)23.6925.1726.3325.59Source: Ofcom CMRPPV televisionOfcom do not collect market share information for PPV television. Based on estimated household subscription figures Netflix is the largest service with 4.3 million households in Q1 2015 (source: Ofcom CMR/BARB Establishment Survey) TelecommunicationsRetail fixed voice revenues 200020052010Q1 - 2015BT was the largest provider in each year75%65%51%44%Source: OfcomRetail fixed broadband services (number of subscribers) 2000200520102014BT was the largest provider in each year56%23%28%32%Source: Ofcom CMR  2000200520102015*Vodafone11.614.820.1-O2 (inc Tesco)10.217.024.3-Talkmobile (inc Virgin)8.315.331.2 EE (inc Virgin)-Orange9.814.9-3-3.55.6-Mobile Connections (million) by operatorSource: Ofcom CMR * Ofcom no longer collect this data Newspapers 2000200520102015News UK35%34%37%34%Note – covers national newspaper circulation, dailies and Sundays. As the calendar year 2015 is not yet complete, the figures relate to the 12 months ending in April of each named year.The organisation that is now News UK had the largest share of circulation in each of these years.

BBC Radio

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the BBC's overall market share of (a) national, (b) local and (c) digital radio was in the most recent year for which information is available.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The data is set out in the annual Ofcom Communications Market Report, which was last published in August 2015. Ofcom uses data collected and published quarterly by RAJAR Ltd (Radio Joint Audience Research). The RAJAR figures for Q1 2015 covering the reach and share of radio listening for BBC radio stations and commercial radio services are set out in the tables below. Table 1: Percentage reach of the population (all adults 15+)All BBC radio 65.2%All commercial radio 63.4%All BBC network services 59.2%All National commercial 32.0%All BBC nations/local services 16.5%All local commercial radio 50.0%Table 2: Share of all radio listening hours (all adults 15+)Total 100%BBC network services 46.9%BBC nations/local services 7.6%National commercial 14.2%Local commercial 28.6%Other (incl. community radio) 2.8% Details of the BBC’s share of all digital radio listening were not published by Ofcom in the latest CMR report. Ofcom have provided DCMS with an analysis of the Q2 2015 RAJAR figures for all digital radio listening which are set out in the table below: Table 3 Share of all radio listening hours (all adults 15+)All digital radio 39.9%Of which:BBC network services 19.3%BBC nations/local services 1.4%National commercial 8.6%Local commercial 7.6%Not stated 3.0%

Exercise and Sports

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent discussions Ministers in his Department have had with regional and devolved administrations on promoting sport and exercise in local communities.

Tracey Crouch: I am committed to ensuring that the benefits of sport can be realised by all communities across the country. Whilst there have been no meetings specifically on this issue recently, I am always open to discussions with colleagues around the country and Sport England has a specific remit to work at all levels, for example funding the County Sports Partnerships which work directly with local councils. We are currently consulting on our new sport strategy and will of course be taking devolved and regional issues into consideration as part of this. Earlier this year the Department for Culture, Media and Sport ministers signed the UK up to take part in the first ever European Week of Sport - the European Commission’s new initiative to promote sport and exercise in local communities across Europe, working with Sport England, Sport Wales, Sport Scotland and Sport Northern Ireland.

Music: Finance

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 21 July 2015 to Question 6921, what the monetary values were of the successful applications in each year in the tables provided.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The figures in the tables represent total numbers of applications to the open-access Grants for the arts programme - classified in part, or mainly focused, on Brass or Opera in the years since 2012/13 to 2015/16 to date (09/09/15). BRASS AND SILVER BANDSDecision Year2012/20132013/20142014/20152015/2016 YTDTOTAL 12/13 - 15/16 YTDTotal Applications23354633137Offers Made815161049£ Value£87,929£290,244£165,457£249,531£793,161Average award value£10,991£19,350£10,341£24,953£16,187Total Unsuccessful1520302388Success Rate35%43%35%30%36%  *OPERA / MUSIC THEATRE  Decision Year2012/20132013/20142014/20152015/2016 YTDTOTAL 12/13 -15/16 YTDTotal Applications8312118399486Offers Made32466934181£ Value£652,976£1,094,321£1,138,012£996,459£3,881,768Average award value£20,406£23,790£16,493£29,308£21,446Total Unsuccessful517511465305Success Rate39%38%38%34%37%   * Opera is contained in those applications for musical theatre, which is defined as a genre of drama in which singing and dancing play an essential part.

Telecommunications: Sheffield Heeley

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment he has made of the time taken by Openreach to provide for the connection of new housing developments to telephone and internet services in Sheffield, Heeley constituency.

Mr Edward Vaizey: I understand from Openreach that there is currently a problem with one site in the Sheffield Healey constituency that is now being addressed following a series of delays. Residents should be provided with service by the end of September.

Broadband: Business

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support the roll-out of fibre to the premises broadband to businesses.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The government is committed to ensuring that the UK has the digital communications infrastructure that businesses need to grow and thrive. For some this will mean fibre to the premise, for others this will be fibre to the cabinet, with the final customer connection over copper or coaxial cable. Some businesses may opt to use wireless services.The Government’s role is to facilitate private investment in infrastructure, to provide policy stability, and to support the market, providing targeted financial support as necessary.Through the Government’s investment of over £780 million, superfast broadband is now available to over 80% of homes and businesses in the UK, compared to 45% in 2010. By the end of 2017 it will be available to 95% of homes and businesses. The Government has already dedicated £40 million this year to SME connectivity in 50 cities and their surrounding areas. The scheme is going well, with over £28 million committed so far. Over 40,000 vouchers being issued since the scheme launched in December 2013. On average firms are getting ten times faster broadband as a result of their improved connection, and almost 750,000 workers will benefit from better broadband in the workplace.

Broadband: Business

Stuart Blair Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the annual cost to businesses of inconsistent broadband coverage.

Mr Edward Vaizey: An estimate of the annual cost to businesses due to inconsistent broadband coverage would quickly be out of date given the rate at which superfast broadband coverage is being extended. Under the government-funded broadband programmes each week we continue to see a further 40,000 premises able to access superfast broadband speeds. Through government investment of over £780 million, superfast broadband is available to over 80% of homes and businesses in the UK compared to 45% in 2010 and by the end of 2017 it will be available to 95% of homes and businesses.

Digital Technology: North of England

Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he plans to take to encourage the growth of the digital economy as part of the Northern Powerhouse initiative.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The Government’s long-term economic plan seeks to rebalance growth across the UK, and build a Northern Powerhouse. Investing in digital and innovation, science, technology, transport, culture and tourism, alongside devolving power gives the North a powerful new voice, investment and decision-making powers. Better, faster fixed and mobile broadband drives economic growth, innovation and excellence, enhances national competitiveness, and underpins the government’s long-term economic plan. The Government has committed over £131 million to provide superfast broadband for nearly 1 million premises in the North of England broadband project areas. The Government is supporting Tech North, which will help develop and champion the digital economy. This month Tech North launched Northern Stars to showcase and support digital start-ups. The Department of Culture Media and Sport is providing £2 million per year funding for Tech North. Capital spending is also planned on tech business incubators in Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield. The Government is supporting new opportunities that digital technologies are unlocking, such as the sharing economy. There will be pilots in Leeds and Manchester to trial local sharing initiatives, for example in transport, public space, and health and social care. Companies in the North have also benefited from the availability of connection vouchers of up to £3,000 to upgrade their broadband connectivity.

Broadband: Business

Patricia Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the annual cost to businesses of inconsistent broadband coverage.

Mr Edward Vaizey: An estimate of the annual cost to businesses due to inconsistent broadband coverage would quickly be out of date given the rate at which superfast broadband coverage is being extended. Under the government-funded broadband programmes each week we continue to see a further 40,000 premises able to access superfast broadband speeds. Through government investment of over £780 million, superfast broadband is available to over 80% of homes and businesses in the UK compared to 45% in 2010 and by the end of 2017 it will be available to 95% of homes and businesses.

Conservation Areas

Mr Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, which local planning authorities in 2014 (a) complied with their duty under section 69(2) of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 and (b) designated conservation areas accordingly.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The information requested is not held by Government.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Consultants

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what policy evaluations have been carried out by external organisations for her Department and its agencies in each financial year since 2010-11; whether the output of those evaluations was published; which organisation carried out each such evaluation; and what the value of each contract to provide that evaluation was.

George Eustice: Defra’s ‘Science and Research Projects’ website contains information on Defra-funded research projects, including Defra policy evaluations. This data includes the year the project took place; the organisation that carried out the research; the value of the contract; and any published reports. The database can be accessed at: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-environment-food-rural-affairs/about/research.

Air Pollution

Mims Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of air quality action plans in tackling local pockets of air pollution.

Rory Stewart: The Government published the report ‘Review of Effectiveness of Local Authority Action Plans (LAQM) and Future Policy Options for LAQM’ in 2013, which looked at a broad selection of local authorities with Air Quality Management Areas that ranged from hotspots to large areas of exceedance. This report concluded that although the review and assessment part of the LAQM regime was working very well, though too bureaucratic, some improvements could also be made to the action planning process.We are currently reviewing the Local Air Quality Management system to reduce bureaucracy and enable greater focus on taking action, and intend to consult on a streamlined reporting system and revised guidance later this year.

Sugar: EU Action

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to mitigate the effect of recent changes in EU policy on the sugar industry.

George Eustice: The sugar regime is one of the most heavily regulated and distorting elements of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The agreement, as part of the 2013 reforms, to end sugar beet quotas in 2017 is an important step towards removing these distortions.   During negotiations of the reforms the UK Government argued for a fair and balanced outcome for all parts of the sugar industry. Disappointingly, there was insufficient support from other Member States to secure the necessary changes on imports to allow the cane sector to compete on a level playing field with the beet sector. However, we remain committed to working with the European Commission to address this issue through forthcoming EU trade agreements.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Electricity: Contracts

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to make it easier for retail electricity consumers to negotiate distributed energy contracts with energy companies.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government and the regulator, Ofgem, are actively exploring the operation of the distributed energy supply landscape, including the potential costs and benefits for consumers and the implications for regulatory arrangements. Ofgem are due to publish their response to the discussion paper on Non-Traditional Business Models in the Autumn which looks at different models for the supply of energy. DECC officials will work closely with Ofgem over the coming months to understand the implications for the Government.

Power Stations: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will introduce an emissions performance standard applied to all UK power stations.

Andrea Leadsom: The coalition Government introduced an Emissions Performance Standard for all new fossil power stations as part of the Energy Act 2013 when the case for extending the scope of the EPS to include existing plant was considered by Parliament.

Solar Power: Subsidies

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, with reference to her Department's consultation on a proposal to close the Renewables Obligation to rooftop and ground-mounted solar projects below 5MW from 1 April 2016, what estimate her Department has made of the average change in value of annual household energy bills in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18 if that proposal were implemented.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate she has made of typical annual household bills saving that will result from her Department's proposal to close the Renewables Obligation to rooftop and ground-mounted solar projects below 5MW in size from 1 April 2016 in (a) 2015-16, (b) 2016-17 and (c) 2017-18.

Andrea Leadsom: As set out in the consultation document [1], the evidence indicates that deployment for solar PV up to and including 5 megawatt (MW) is increasing substantially compared to previous estimates. The updated estimates now range from 800 MW to 2 gigawatts (GW) each year in 2015/16 and 2016/17 compared to previous estimates of 300 to 500 MW.As a result of the proposed government intervention to close the Renewables Obligation to rooftop and ground-mounted solar projects below 5MW from 1 April 2016, annual household electricity bills will be lower. Consumers are expected to save between £0.20 and £0.60 in 2016/17, and between £0.50 and £1.20 in 2017/18. (These figures are round to the nearest decimal point are in real 2014 prices). In 2015/16 consumers would not make any savings as the closure will take effect from 1 April 2016.Without the proposed intervention, customer bills would therefore be higher.[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-financial-support-for-solar-pv

Carbon Emissions: EU Action

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how she is working with her counterparts in the EU to increase the EU's Carbon Reduction Commitment.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government is committed to securing an ambitious, legally binding, global deal on climate change at COP21 in Paris.   On 6th March 2015, the EU and its Member States submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) ahead of COP21, committing to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 relative to 1990 levels. In the context of securing an ambitious deal in Paris, the UK remains open to the EU raising its target beyond 40% if the right conditions emerge.   The Government is working with others in the EU, including through meetings of the Environment Council, and more broadly internationally at all levels to secure the ambitious global agreement we want.

Department for Energy and Climate Change: Consultants

Phil Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what experience the consultants employed to produce the Feed-in-Tariff rates published in the current Feed-in-Tariff consultation have of working in the solar power industry.

Andrea Leadsom: WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff were appointed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change following an open competition through the Crown Commercial Services Framework. The requirement was to update cost assumptions across all technologies eligible for the UK Feed-in Tariffs (FITs). This is work which the company already has experience of carrying out, having been involved in updating cost assumptions for FITs in 2012.Specifically in relation to solar, members of the WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff project team were able to demonstrate experience of working directly with solar PV projects, developing and managing them at all stages of their lifecycle. As part of the work that they carried out, WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff also engaged directly with a number of key actors in the solar industry.

Insulation: Industry

Mr Geoffrey Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent steps she has taken to review the performance of (a) the cavity wall insulation industry and (b) the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government has commissioned an Independent Review, led by Peter Bonfield, to look at Consumer Advice, Protection, Standards and Enforcement for energy efficiency and renewable energy. The scope of the Review will cover the performance of the cavity wall insulation industry and the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA). DECC officials have met several times with representatives from CIGA to discuss issues relating to cavity wall insulation. These actions include CIGA publishing their first ever annual report, improving their consumer handling processes and publishing a league table of installer performances in regards to dealing with consumer complaints. CIGA have also appointed a Consumer Champion with the remit to act as a focal point for consumer organisations and deal with consumer complaints. The Consumer Champion is currently conducting a review to gather stakeholder’s view of CIGA’s complaint handling processes. The Bonfield Review team will work closely with the CIGA Consumer Champion over the period of the Review.

Solar Power: Construction

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, how many mid-scale PV roofs were installed in (a) London and (b) the UK in 2014-15; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: There is no official definition of ‘mid-scale’ PV installations, while details on the siting of panels are not available for the majority of installations.   The table below therefore gives the number of installations, disaggregated by capacity band, of schemes supported by the GB Feed in Tariff, installed in each of 2014 and 2015, excluding standalone schemes (as these are defined as not supplying electricity to a dwelling and are therefore unlikely to be standard roof installations). For Northern Ireland, all installations are less than 50 kW, and are assumed to be roof-top sited, so are included.   Capacity Band2014 (01 Jan to 31 Dec) 2015 (01 Jan to 30 June)LondonGBNI LondonGBNI<10 kW2,716110,8616,634 1,43565,4932,83010-50 kW1102,998 521,717>50 kW-342- 2336-Total2,826114,2016,634 1,48967,5462,830

Nuclear Power Stations: Security

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps her Department has taken to protect nuclear power stations from attacks carried out using unmanned drones.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 14 September 2015



Civil nuclear safety and security are priorities for the Government. The Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) regulates safety and security at UK licenced nuclear sites and site licensees are required to demonstrate appropriate security plans against a range of relevant threats, which are updated on an on-going basis. The details of these threats are not released on grounds of National Security.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment she has made of the effects of the proposal to reduce the feed-in tariff payments for solar energy on (a) the UK solar power industry, (b) employment in the sector and (c) the cost and accessibility of solar power.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 14 September 2015



The current Feed-in Tariff Review consultation and accompanying Impact Assessment set out DECC’s assessment of the effect of scheme changes on solar PV deployment and expectations of future changes in technology costs.   The impact assessment does not quantify the impact of changes on employment levels either in the sector or in the wider economy. This is due to the lack of robust evidence on the number of jobs that FITs as a specific scheme has directly supported so far. We have asked a question in the consultation about the wider impact of changes.

Biofuels: Carbon Emissions

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of biomass energy crops in delivering carbon reductions as set out in the UK Bioenergy Strategy.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 14 September 2015



The 2013/14 Renewables Obligation sustainability data [1] indicate that, for data available, the average greenhouse gas saving from energy crops on the European Union fossil fuel electricity average, by consignment, was approximately 90% (within a range of 85-94%). Feedstock data will begin being collected for Renewable Heat Incentive from the beginning of October, but energy crops are expected to make up a small proportion of heat biomass feedstock.   As recommended in the Bioenergy Strategy, this year the UK government is introducing mandatory sustainability criteria for biomass supported under the Renewables Obligation and the Renewable Heat Incentive. This will ensure that bioenergy feedstock is from sustainable land types, and that feedstock must meet a minimum 60% greenhouse gas saving on the EU fossil fuel electricity average. These requirements apply to energy crops.[1] https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/biomass-sustainability-dataset-2013-14

Renewable Energy: Subsidies

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of subsidies paid to the (a) solar and (b) wind power industries in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 14 September 2015



Solar and wind have received support over the past five years from the Renewables Obligation (RO) and the Feed-in Tariff (FITs) schemes. The cost of the schemes is reclaimed from electricity consumers, not from general taxation.   The cost of supporting solar and wind through the RO in 2010/11 to 2014/15 was as follows (figures not adjusted for inflation):2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15Onshore wind£398m£483m£557m£756m£787mOffshore wind£254m£371m£699m£989m£1,108mSolar PV£0.2m£0.1m£0.9m£35m£134m   Solar and some small-scale onshore wind are also supported by the FIT, but FIT costs are not available disaggregated by technology. Total support under FiT in 2013/14 (the latest year for which data are available) was £691m.

Biofuels: Subsidies

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the total subsidy paid for biomass production for the purposes of power generation in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 14 September 2015



The previous government supported the Energy Crop Scheme which provided a five year subsidy support for farmers and landowners producing biomass for electricity and heat production. This scheme, which provided support for planting and developing new energy crops, closed on 31st August 2013 to new applicants but continues to support those still in the scheme. The payments in the last five years were estimated by Natural England to be:   2010 – £425,9422011 – £594,6982012 – £1,320,8132013 – £427,1982014 – £330,438   Natural England, who run the scheme, estimate that 80% of the energy crops planted under the scheme will eventually be harvested for power generation, the remainder being for heat generation.

Biofuels: Imports

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what estimate her Department has made of the value of biomass imported for the purposes of power generation in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: Holding answer received on 14 September 2015



DECC holds data, obtained from HMRC, on the imports of fuel wood products, including: wood, wood pellets, wood chips, sawdust and wood waste. The vast majority of wood pellets are used for the purpose of electricity generation in large biomass plants. However, this may not be the case for other fuel wood products. This is summarised in the table below:   Value of imports (£million)20102011201220132014Wood pellets68129185412545Other fuel wood products (wood, wood chips, sawdust, wood waste) 9101315All fuel wood products68138195425560

Nuclear Power: Decommissioning

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will provide additional research and development tax relief to companies developing innovative technologies to help accelerate the decommissioning process.

Andrea Leadsom: There is a continuing need for research and development to support the safe, secure and cost effective decommissioning of energy installations in the UK. The Government already has in place a number of measures, including R&D tax credits for SMEs and large companies, to support research and development across the economy. Therefore, my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no plans to raise with my rt. hon. Friend Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer the issue of providing further specific tax relief in this area.

Nuclear Power: Decommissioning

Sue Hayman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, by what date the decommissioning of (a) Sellafield and (b) Magnox sites is planned to be complete.

Andrea Leadsom: The latest forecast for completion of decommissioning at the Sellafield site is 2120. The Magnox decommissioning programme is currently scheduled to be completed by 2105.

Energy: Competition

Chris Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to increase competition in the energy supply market.

Andrea Leadsom: There are now 25 independent suppliers in the domestic retail market providing more competition and choice for consumers. The Government has made it quicker and easier for consumers to switch supplier. We are now working with Ofgem towards next day switching.   We have supported Ofgem’s reforms to make the retail market simpler, clearer and fairer and to increase liquidity in the wholesale electricity market. In addition the Government has backed Ofgem’s referral of the energy market for investigation by the Competition and Market Authority.

Environment Protection: China

Craig Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent discussions she has had with her Chinese counterpart on areas of cooperation on green growth.

Andrea Leadsom: My rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change met the Chinese Special Representative on Climate Change Xie Zhenhua at the Major Economies Forum in Luxembourg in July and when she visited Beijing at the end of July. They agreed on the importance of getting an effective climate change agreement at the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in December in Paris and agreed to work together for an ambitious outcome.   During her recent trip, the Secretary of State also met with Minister Bekri who leads China’s National Energy Administration and a number of other Chinese stakeholders from business and government where we discussed low carbon cooperation. The Secretary of State hopes to meet with Minister Bekri again shortly for further discussions.

Hinkley Point C Power Station: Construction

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to ensure that cost overruns similar to those incurred in the building of the Flamanville nuclear power station do not occur in EDF's construction of Hinkley Point C.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK Government and EDF are working together to finalise the documentation for the Hinkley Point C project. The deal is subject to approval by Ministers.   It is for the developer to ensure that construction is delivered within budget and to schedule. Should construction costs overrun beyond the maximum cost provided for in any Contracts for Difference (CfD) that is offered, the costs of those overruns would not be remunerated.

Nuclear Power: Finance

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to ensure that the strike price per megawatt hour of production at the proposed Sizewell and Bradwell nuclear power stations (a) reflects the market rate and (b) is not subsidised from public funds.

Andrea Leadsom: Our electricity market reforms have set the right conditions for necessary investment in our energy market, and support low-carbon generation in nuclear as well as in other generating sectors. No applications for development consent to build new nuclear power stations at Sizewell and Bradwell have been made and it is too soon to say what the funding arrangements might be for these projects.

Nuclear Power: Finance

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if she will take steps to ensure that the strike price per megawatt hour of production from Hinkley Point C nuclear power station (a) reflects the market rate and (b) is not subsidised from public funds.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK Government and EDF are working together to finalise the documentation for the Hinkley Point C project. The deal is subject to approval by Ministers and must represent value for money.

Attorney General

Witnesses: Self-employed

Kate Hoey: To ask the Attorney General, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of reimbursing self-employed witnesses for loss of earnings when they are obliged to attend court.

Robert Buckland: The payment of witness expenses and allowances to prosecution witnesses, where the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the prosecuting authority, is governed by the Crown Prosecution Service (Witnesses’ etc. Allowances) Regulations 1988.The rates payable in accordance with the Regulations are designed to provide compensation to witnesses attending court but not necessarily full reimbursement of all costs incurred, including loss of earnings, whether the witness is employed or self-employed. The aim is to strike a balance between providing a reasonable level of compensation to witnesses and ensuring that public money is spent appropriately.It is important that the allowances are set at a level that does not discourage the public from coming forward to give evidence and rates are subject to regular review. Nevertheless, limits on the amounts payable are necessary if the Government is to maintain control over public spending in order to direct limited resources to areas of greatest need.The witness allowance rates are due to be reviewed shortly.

GPT Special Project Management

Mr David Davis: To ask the Attorney General, what progress has been made on the Serious Fraud Office's investigation into allegations of bribery in the GPT Special Project Management programme; and when he expects the investigation to conclude.

Robert Buckland: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced in August 2012 that the Director had opened a criminal investigation into allegations concerning GPT and aspects of the conduct of their business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I can confirm that the SFO has executed a search warrant and a number of arrests have been made in relation to this matter.

Ministry of Justice

Wandsworth Prison: Inspections

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what implications the report of the unannounced visits by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons to HMP Wandsworth will have for his policies on (a) making prisons safer, (b) protecting minority groups in prisons, (c) addressing staff shortages in prisons and (d) providing educational and vocational opportunities in prison.

Andrew Selous: HMP Wandsworth is implementing its action plan addressing the recommendations in the Inspectorate report. A new governor is in place who is focusing on delivering a safe, decent and secure regime. Additional resources have been identified within the establishment to support the safety and violence issues within the report and the prison is working hard to improve the issues identified in the report. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is committed to running safe prisons. Violence in prison is wholly unacceptable. NOMS has launched a new Violence Reduction Project, which has been created to gain better understanding of the causes of the current levels of violence in prisons and to make sure that there is strengthened handling of it, in terms of both prevention and response. A number of processes are in place to ensure that all black and minority ethnic prisoners are treated fairly with regards to the delivery of services in prisons, including monitoring and equality impact assessments, both of national policies and local implementation. NOMS has undertaken a large scale recruitment to tackle shortfalls caused by the unexpected rise in the prison population and a higher turnover of staff. NOMS has recruited over 2,230 new Band 3 Officers in the 12 months to 30 June 2015 and is planning to recruit at a similar rate in 2015-16 to address outstanding vacancies and turnover of staff. Work is already in progress to improve the quality of learning and skills in prisons. Increasing numbers of prisoners are engaged in learning but Ofsted Inspections confirm that one in five prisons has an inadequate standard of education provision and another two fifths require improvement. Additionally, the Secretary of State has asked Dame Sally Coates to chair a review of the quality of education in prisons. The review will report in March 2016. Details can be found at the following link: www.gov.uk/government/speeches/education-in-prison

Staffordshire and West Midlands Rehabilitation Company: Video Conferencing

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Staffordshire and West Midlands Rehabilitation Company's use of video calls in place of face-to-face contact with offenders.

Andrew Selous: The bid made by the Reducing Reoffending Partnership for the contract to run the Staffordshire and West Midlands Community Rehabilitation Company (SWM CRC) included changes to the way services are delivered, such as the introduction of biometric kiosk reporting. These changes do not specifically include the use of video calls in place of face-to-face interviews with offenders, and we are not currently aware of any plans SWM CRC may have to introduce them in the future.

Administration of Justice: North West

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the (a) capital and (b) revenue costs of implementing his proposals for future provision of HM Courts and Tribunal services in the North West.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The consultation is open until 8 October and we will consider the potential costs in the North West once the consultation closes and all responses have been analysed.

Children: Abuse

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of the total number of offenders convicted of cruelty to children were (a) men and (b) women in the last year for which information is available.

Mike Penning: The information requested can be found at :https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/428943/cjs-outcomes-by-offence-data-tool.xls. (Open the `Pivot Table’ tab, select `Offence’, then `11 Cruelty and neglect of children’, then select `Sex’, (male, female, unstated)).

Ministry of Justice: Departmental Responsibilities

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which (a) people and (b) organisations he has met in an official capacity since his appointment as Secretary of State for Justice.

Mike Penning: Under this Government's transparency policy, meetings between ministers and external organisations are published quarterly on gov.uk. The information for this period has not yet been published, but will be published in due course.

Courts: Opening Hours

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which courts close routinely for a period of two consecutive weeks or more in each calendar year; and what the reason for the closure is in each such case.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Lancaster Crown Court is the only courthouse which routinely closes for a period of two consecutive weeks or more in a calendar year. Lancaster Crown Court is a one courtroom centre and is administratively supported from Preston Crown Court. It is based within Lancaster Castle, a heritage site and tourist attraction. The court is closed during peak holiday periods to make best use of available staff resource and also to avoid complications arising out of increased tourist volumes. There are no adverse implications on court users as a result of the closure.

Courts: Appeals

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals heard in Crown Courts against (a) trial outcomes and (b) sentencing decisions in magistrates' courts were successful in each of the last three years.

Mike Penning: The information requested can be found here, in table C15: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/437723/ccsq-january-march-2015-tables.xlsx

Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners in closed prisons have been released on temporary licence in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous: My officials are currently working to provide the information requested. I will write to you in due course.

Prisoners' Release

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who had previously been released from prison following a murder conviction were on life licence in each year since 2007.

Andrew Selous: All offenders convicted of murder must receive a life sentence. Once an offender has served the minimum term in prison imposed by the court he or she may be considered for release by the Parole Board, which will only release a prisoner if it is satisfied that it is safe to do so. If and when they are released, all offenders serving life sentences are on licence for the rest of their lives, and subject to recall to prison at any time. The number of first releases for those prisoners serving a mandatory life sentence for the period 2007 to 2014 is published online and can be found in table A3.3 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449324/prison-releases-annual-2014.xlsx .

Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007

Mr Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to implement all the powers set out in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government does not currently plan to implement all the outstanding powers in the Act, but will keep the matter under review. Any such powers would only be implemented if the Government were satisfied that there was a compelling case for doing so.

Magistrates' Courts: Hartlepool

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the savings from the proposed closure of Hartlepool Magistrates' Court.

Mr Shailesh Vara: No decision has been taken to close Hartlepool Magistrates’ Court and County Court.The consultation is open until 8 October and we will consider all identified savings once the consultation closes and all responses have been fully analysed.

Magistrates' Courts: Hartlepool

Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were heard at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court in each of the last five years.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The number of cases heard at Hartlepool is provided below:  2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15 Total5,9925,5675,3005,0264,160 As stated in the consultation document, the utilisation rate for Hartlepool magistrate’s court was 49% in 2014/2015. Notes -  1. The data provided are the most recent available and for that reason might differ slightly from any previously published information. 2. Data relates to cases closed within the period   3. Data are management information and are not subject to the same level of checks as official statistics. 4. The data provided have been extracted specifically to answer this question and have not been cross referenced with case files 5. Civil cases can be bulk listed and where they are will only attract a single count when multiple claims will have been dealt with 6. Criminal cases are comprised of Indictable, Eitherway, Summary Motoring and Summary Non-Motoring offences as well as Breaches of Criminal Orders and Criminal Related Offences

National Offender Management Service: Secondment

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost of travel and subsistance has been to the National Offender Management Service for the operation of the nationally co-ordinated detached duty scheme since its introduction.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service cannot disaggregate the cost of travel and subsistence claimed by staff on the nationally co-ordinated detached duty scheme from other staff travel and subsistence expenses recorded on the central accounting system without incurring disproportionate cost.

Magistrates' Courts: Trials

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length was between plea and commencement of trial in cases at (a) Bury Magistrates' Court, (b) Manchester and Salford Magistrates' Court and (c) all magistrates' courts.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This information is centrally held but not routinely reported in this format.I will write to the Hon member with this information and place a copy in the library of the House in due course.

Magistrates' Courts: Bury

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value is of outstanding fines imposed by Bury Magistrates' Court.

Mr Shailesh Vara: This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Magistrates' Courts: Bury

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department has carried out an assessment of the effect of the closure of Bury Magistrates' Court on the (a) cost and (b) duration of journeys between local police stations and the next nearest magistrates' courts.

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department has carried out an assessment of the effect of the proposed closure of Bury Magistrates' Court on the (a) cost and (b) duration of journeys to the next nearest magistrates' courts for witnesses and victims of crime.

Mr Shailesh Vara: No decision has been taken to close Bury Magistrates’ Court and County Court.We will consider all identified impacts and costs once the consultation closes and all responses have been fully analysed.

Magistrates' Courts: Sentencing

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential increase in the use of magistrates' courts consequent upon the sentencing powers of magistrates being increased from six months to 12 months for a single offence; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara: We are assessing the possible impacts across the criminal justice system of an increase in magistrates’ custodial sentencing powers as part of our wider court reform programme.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Public Appointments

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, when he plans to appoint a Chief Data Officer; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: Mike Bracken is the Government Chief Data Officer. Future appointments will be announced in the normal way.

Cabinet Office: UK Membership of EU

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how many officials within (a) his Department and (b) Number 10 Downing Street are engaged in research into the effects of the UK leaving the EU.

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which external organisations officials in (a) his Department and (b) Number 10 Downing Street have met to discuss the consequences of the UK leaving the EU in each of the last three years; and how many meetings such officials have had with each such organisation.

Matthew Hancock: Officials regularly meet with a range of external organisations to discuss the Government's objectives in Europe.

Self-Employed

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what information his Department holds on levels of self-employment in the (a) construction, (b) care, (c) cleaning, and (d) hospitality sectors.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Attachment for Member - Self-Employment
(Excel SpreadSheet, 18 KB)




UKSA Letter to Member - Self-Employment
(PDF Document, 65.9 KB)

Digital Technology: Training

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his (a) policies in general and (b) policy on data rights of the findings of the British Computing Society's Ministerial Briefing on Digital Skills; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The British Computing Society's paper highlights the potential that digital and technology provide for disruption. This government is looking at various ways to support businesses, workers and government itself by harnessing emerging technology to improve national infrastructure and skills.

Government Digital Service

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent representations he has received on talent retention in the Government Digital Service.

Matthew Hancock: The Cabinet Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Iraq Committee of Inquiry

Mr David Davis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much the Government has spent on legal advice for recipients of Salmon Letters in the Iraq Inquiry.

Matthew Hancock: Any such support has been provided through Government lawyers.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Mr David Nuttall: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what estimate he has made of the number of non-UK EU citizens residing in the UK who were previously refugees granted citizenship in another EU member state in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Mr Rob Wilson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.



UKSA Letter to Member - Refugee Citizenships
(PDF Document, 63.21 KB)